By Mary-Elizabeth Merrill
Right now, my heart is heavy with families, teachers, and children across the United States who depend on special education support. With the Department of Education scaling back and parts of the Office of Special Education Programs reportedly reduced to a fraction of their normal staff, many are left wondering: Who will protect the children who need help the most?
Even when systems slow down, compassion has to guide the way forward.
This is not about politics or blame. It’s about people. It’s about students who can’t wait months for support, parents who are exhausted from fighting for services, and teachers doing everything they can with what they have left. It’s about us…advocates, educators, and families choosing to keep showing up, even when the system feels uncertain.
The Reality We’re Facing
The federal government shutdown has caused ripple effects that hit classrooms first. According to recent reports, large portions of the Department of Education’s workforce have been laid off or furloughed, including essential staff within special education and rehabilitative services. Without them, monitoring, accountability, and support for IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) hang in the balance.
That means fewer people to enforce IEP compliance, fewer voices to answer family concerns, and fewer hands to support local educators doing their best.
This moment feels fragile, but fragility doesn’t mean hopelessness.
What We Can Do—Together The Reality We’re Facing
When federal systems falter, local compassion becomes the safety net.
We don’t have to wait for the system to fix itself before we act. Here’s what we can do right now to keep children supported and seen:
Come Together Locally: Connect with parents, educators, and advocates in your area. Host small gatherings, share ideas, and trade strategies. One local network can make a world of difference to one struggling child.
Document Everything: Keep every IEP, email, and progress note. Even when systems pause, your paper trail protects your child.
Empower Teachers: Encourage general education teachers to use inclusive practices like Universal Design for Learning. Every small adaptation…choice of format, visuals, peer supports, helps a student stay included rather than left behind.
Use Tech Tools Wisely: Tools like speech-to-text, audiobooks, and communication apps can bridge the gap when services lag. Share them widely; let tech become a form of advocacy.
Lead with Story and Empathy: When you speak, do it with heart. Tell real stories of students and families. It changes minds far more than anger ever could.
Keep Hope Close: Hope is a skill we can practice together by believing that small acts of care ripple outward into big change.
Carrying the Message Beyond Borders
In the coming months, I’ll be speaking in Dublin, London, and Oxford about the importance of staying united and compassionate during uncertain times. These events come at a moment when many families in the U.S. are feeling anxious about the future of special education and wondering who will keep fighting for their children when systems slow down.
I’ll share how American families and educators are finding creative ways to support kids when resources are limited, how we can keep including every learner even when funding is uncertain, and how AI and innovation can open new doors for students with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other learning differences.
But most of all, I’ll be sharing stories of teachers who refuse to give up, parents who turn exhaustion into advocacy, and children who continue to shine through challenge.
At each event, my message will be the same: hope is stronger than hardship, and compassion is more powerful than any shutdown.
Even when systems stall, parents, teachers, and advocates keep moving forward together, for the children who need us most. Because when we unite across cities and countries, we remind the world that inclusion doesn’t pause, love doesn’t wait for funding, and every child deserves to be seen, supported, and believed in, no matter what.
When Compassion Leads, Children Don’t Get Left Behind
This moment is testing us, but it’s also defining us. We can’t control every law, policy, or shutdown, but we can control how we show up.
We can choose to see the child who’s struggling. Not as a problem to fix, but as a person to understand.
We can choose to speak up for the parent who feels unheard and overwhelmed, reminding them they are not alone.
We can choose to lead with kindness, even when it would be easier to turn away.
Because real advocacy doesn’t stop during a shutdown, it rises! It grows louder in classrooms, kinder in conversations, and stronger in communities.
And our children are watching us. They are learning from how we handle frustration, disappointment, and division. If they see us respond with anger, fear, or blame, they’ll believe that’s how change happens. But if they see us respond with compassion, courage, and calm, they’ll understand what real leadership looks like.
Compassion is not a policy, it’s a practice. It lives in every teacher who stays late to help a child read one more word, every parent who keeps showing up to IEP meetings, and every advocate who refuses to let bureaucracy silence what’s right.
When compassion leads, children don’t get left behind. They move forward, because we do.
A Call to All Who Care
If you’re reading this, whether you’re a teacher, parent, advocate, or student, please know that you are not powerless. Your voice, consistency, and compassion matter more than ever. You are the quiet strength that helps classrooms stay calm in uncertain times, the parent offering encouragement when a child feels discouraged, and the advocate who continues to speak up when it would be easier to stay silent.
When systems stall, it’s the steady hearts of the teachers, parents, and advocates who keep the world turning for our kids. Our children are watching us closely, learning not only from what we say but from how we respond. They are seeing how we treat others, how we lead with kindness, and how we choose empathy over anger even when things feel unfair.
This is our time to show them what compassion looks like in action. If we keep showing up with love and hope, we remind them and ourselves that even in difficult times, our shared humanity will always shine through.
Join the Work, Fuel the Mission
If you believe in this mission, I invite you to join us. Whether it’s sharing our message, volunteering, or helping us expand our reach, your support helps keep advocacy and resources alive for families who need them most.
Our mission grows stronger through community support. Every kind word, every shared story, and every act of generosity helps Einstein Advocates continue its work, offering inclusive literacy programs, professional development, and advocacy for neurodivergent students around the world.
Together, we’re proving that compassion isn’t just a feeling, it’s a force that changes lives.
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