Samantha Singletary

A fellow mother, Amy Wright, once said, “I would not change you for the world, but I will change the world for you.” My name is Samantha Singletary, and as I sit here typing on my pink computer, in my grey scrubs, with my wild pinkish-red hair, and fair complected skin tone – here I am, changing my children’s world. I am a single, strong mother of three beautiful children – one of which has ADHD and is gifted, one who was born with a life-changing diagnosis of congenital cytomegalovirus and is classified as “multiple disabilities”, and one that wishes she was born with her sibling’s exceptionalities – but all of which are perfect in my eyes. For me, LEND is a chance to change the world, change the discussion, change the lens of our world vision of the disability community. I am a recent graduate of the national leadership program Partners in Policymaking, an initiative of LADDC. As such, I have been graced repeatedly into the world of disability – and have been since I was very young. It was not unlike my typical school day as a child to hear my mother, a private duty nurse, suction a pediatric patient’s trach, watch her administer a tube feeding, or see her transfer a young child into a wheelchair to start their day. Fast forward to now, I can be found after a 12-hour night shift (as a full-time hospice nurse), driving to the State Capital to testify for our loved ones during Legislative Session, assisting as a Parent Action Committee Member at my children’s local school, and having the honor to serve on my RAC (Regional Advisory Committee) for Region IV. My hope is to rewrite the narrative of parent advocacy – to learn, research, and grow – so that each one of the adults I am raising, and the becoming adults of my friends, neighbors, and communities are heard, seen, and accepted as the valid, unique, and whole person they are.