Getting involved in public office is scary, but it can also be a powerful way to drive positive change in the community. It can also be empowering as a parent or caregiver in your own recovery from the trauma your child may have experienced.

My journey as a disability advocate started after I went to college. I constantly had to further my education even after college, but I was forced to pivot to Business Administration and Accounting when my original field experienced budget cuts. This was after several productive years working as a young professional in the lab and as a writer in toxicology studies for contractors at NIH (National Institutes of Health) and Walter Reed. Eventually, research work became scarce and competitive, and when I became a young parent, I stayed home to support my family.

How I experienced the truth about the treatment of my child in public school began as a slow-boiling nightmare for my family. I was recently remarried into a new blended family, and COVID-19 had not become a pandemic yet. I was at work in the medical field, and my 16-year-old son sent my husband and me a message in a group text.

“I’m glad they are finally doing something about this.” He texted.

I texted him, “What do you mean? Nobody ever did these things to you. They would have told me.” He texted back, “No, they did these things to me and my friends all the time, and yes, it felt like abuse. If it wasn’t abuse, my brain wouldn’t have kept it.” I had read the same news article that my son had read before this text message, and it was appalling in nature.

The news article was about the Department of Justice investigating the local special education programs in public schools for illegal seclusion and restraint. Many families had been affected, including my own.

When I formally requested my son’s entire educational file and did a deep dive into information I had hoarded over the years, I found my son had undergone nine years of abuse at the mercy of the public school system. I read paper after paper detailing how my 3rd grader cried out, “I’m going to tell my mommy!” and “Please don’t take my shoes.” Often, he would be sent to a nurse afterward to be sure he had no visible trauma.

There wasn’t any good reason why my child had undergone this abuse. The paperwork would sometimes say he was shuffling his feet in class. Often, it would be a demand to comply with something that a person with overwhelmed sensory input could not address properly. When people say one has a developmental disability, they don’t understand that it means this person needs more time to develop or needs a different way to develop a skill.

Initially, at three years old, he was misdiagnosed for his speech. They thought his speech was fine until he attended pre-k. He had meltdowns constantly, and the police department was called on him in general education classes. I went to the school almost daily, laying on the floor next to him and talking him down calmly while he flailed and kicked.

“Can’t you see this is a fight or flight reaction? What are you doing to upset him?”

I would escort him to the nurse for medication to help him go back to class. I would constantly scream and fight with administrators. The bullying at school in second grade sent my child into a deep depression. He could not read other children’s language in their bodies and gestures. There was no reprimand for another kid threatening his life, and he was so literal in his thinking that he thought the other child actually meant it.

At the end of second grade, he was eventually sent into a specialized program by the Central Education office after they called a county-wide IEP meeting, and despite my reluctance and hesitation, I went along with their recommendations. Autism was a newly diagnosed disorder, and I went to every free presentation and workshop from NIH and Kennedy Kreiger about it.

I was pregnant with my third child while my son was in the specialized programs. Once my third child was born and my partner became violent with me, it took me a couple of years to have the ability to leave. The family divorce litigation process was grueling, and I worked several part-time jobs to keep my family afloat, including working in the schools. School systems where I was exposed to the trials and tribulations of our education framework. I tried to bring joy and comfort to the kids in the lunchroom. I would often be set up for failure in management.

Middle school was frightening for both me and my son. My son almost threatened to kill himself several times, trying to escape the threats of school. I would often lose my job due to having to leave work and find my child in crisis. Balancing the never-ending therapy appointments and supporting three children financially meant I could never do anything for myself. I found solace in playing and coaching a team sport.

My son was a sophomore in high school when the article appeared in the newspaper describing the Department of Justice coming into the local education system and investigating the specialized programs over a two-year timeframe. They had found over a hundred families that had children that had been illegally secluded and restrained, and those included my son during his middle school years, too.

If you can imagine your entire life going to school and being physically harmed, locked in a closet, and feeling this is normal for so many years. Then you wake up one day and see that it is not considered normal. How would you feel?

My son went into a deep depression and stopped participating in school therapies. He withdrew into his room at home. We had to transition him to home and health learning online and then to learning in a Specialized trauma-informed school.

After settling with the school system, he still hasn’t been able to address the abuse properly and try to process it. Small glimpses of his trauma appear when a crisis happens at home with the other family members. We had to start over on medications. State waiver services have been the only thing that has been helping him progress at all. Trauma therapy has been a never-ending uphill battle of breaking down years and years of barriers that my son used to block out the abuse and loneliness of isolation.

I have discovered that many families would never have the ability to challenge the formal public education system if their child was subjected to this type of abuse. During my own process, I have found more expansive issues that have persisted in schools nationwide, particularly affecting minority children. The people we entrust with our most valuable investment in the world, our children, are not getting the support and resources they need. Society does not realize that children have a constitutional right to safety in schools and due process if it is not happening, regardless of race, gender, disability, and/or sexuality.

The state of society now has changed as people have been forced to isolate themselves during COVID-19, and the education system faltered due to a lack of educators nationwide. The increase in school shootings has made a war zone for education buildings. The political climate has become erratic and unsafe. I personally think if we are to continue with the current approach, we all will fail our children. Society needs to understand that it has also faced isolation, and that can be scary and dangerous if left untreated.

Who will make the necessary changes to heal the communities and bring about stability to society? Can we rely on our children to be the future we want to care for us someday?

After everything my family has undergone, you would think, “Why wouldn’t a person just want to destroy the public education system?” Because I still inherently believe that the majority of people can be taught to be kind. We need to be setting up our educators for success, not failure. They are just afraid of change. So, my journey as a true activist began.

I have been charged to take these actions and turn it into running for a public office. My message is bringing about the hope needed to ensure adequate funding and support programs in my area locally. It starts in my own community in order to grow into others. The local education system is not a political problem; it is a community problem. When a need in the community is brought into focus, we must support it and treat the issues properly. Our local need is a safe and productive education system.

After my personal trauma resulting from my frustration with the lack of progress and funding for special education programs, I made the courageous decision to run for the Board of Education in my county. I have realized that by getting actively involved as a public servant, even if I am unsuccessful in winning a seat at the table, I can still bring attention to the issues and advocate for change. It helps to meet and collaborate with others who represent the school system and to align with parents and caregivers who have a personal investment in making definitive changes.

I could not muster the power to do this without my husband. My husband won a seat at our local city council, and he was very successful in his service. Due to his involvement in public office, we are both making significant strides toward improving the youth in our community overall. The generations that vote don’t understand how the world has been affected by a pandemic and the isolation that has been forced on it. This is traumatizing, and we know how this feels as adults. This means we should be approaching our children in the school system through a trauma-informed lens. If we can get that message out, it is easier to advocate for increased funding, policy changes, and better training for educators. My campaign serves as a catalyst for conversations and actions that aim to create an inclusive educational environment for all students, regardless of their neurodiversity or exposure to adversity.

I want to elevate the platform for creating change. My personal journey showcases determination, resilience, and the collaborative spirit required to drive improvements. I want to be able to amplify my impact and bring attention to the urgent need for better funding and support for all public education. I hope this article can inspire others to take a grassroots effort and get involved politically.

If you would like to support my campaign further, please consider donating or reach out to me at votevig.com.