I've been so filled with fury about this. When I was 15, my #ADHD wasn't diagnosed yet, but it sure as hell gave me problems. I was enrolled in an online distance learning program, and like Grace, felt overwhelmed with assignments, expectations, and no support. https://twitter.com/Jodiscohen/status/1283034242570760197

The biggest consequence I faced was a much longer school year than my peers who were in classroom settings. I did not have a judge send me to jail for my unsupported #ADHD struggles. #FreeGrace

My whiteness has allowed me to try and fail and try again through everything #ADHD's thrown at me. That shouldn't be a privilege. ADHD is already so misunderstood and stigmatized. Actions based in our executive dysfunction are seen as willful laziness or disregard for rules

instead of what they are—areas our brains need consistent, compassionate support in. That alone creates enough guilt & shame to last a lifetime. #ADHD gave me an extra long school year when I was 15. Grace got sent to jail. "Unjust" isn't a strong enough word for this disparity.

I don't think a strong enough word exists for the multitude of systemic failures & abuses in her story & the stories of other Black youth like her. Stop incarcerating Black children for their unmet mental health needs. While you're at it, stop incarcerating children. #FreeGrace

She's not even guilty of the school work failure she's accused of. Her teacher wrote to her caseworker stating that Grace's school performance was in line with other students'. The caseworker knew this before the hearing, but testified against Grace anyway. #FreeGrace

The school's expectation was for Grace to work at her own pace as long as all of her assignments were completed by the end of the semester. Grace had started daily tutoring and was making progress from the rough transition to online learning.

All of that still equaled failure to the judge that sent her to jail. IDK about other #ADHDers, but I guilt and berate myself if I think something I'm doing has even the *possibility* of looking like failure to someone in authority above me.

Imagine not actually failing according to the standards as you, your parent, your teacher, and your school understood them to be set for you, being told you failed anyway, and getting sent to jail. Over school work and massive racial and ableist biases against you. #FreeGrace

Getting convicted and imprisoned for a wrong you haven't even committed is staggeringly devastating for the adults it happens to. This is a 15-year-old girl with #ADHD, adjusting to an online learning environment without her usual supports in a global pandemic

with "a strong desire to do well," as written by her teacher. I hear myself in Grace's words: "I just needed time to adjust," "I want to change. I want to be a better person," "I'll be respectful and obedient," learning from mistakes and trying to analyze why they happened...

being better, trying to do what's asked while feeling overwhelmed. All of that was me at 15 with undiagnosed #ADHD. Getting by with little to no understanding or support. But I was a white kid with white parents. Grace and her mom are Black. No part of this is ok. #FreeGrace

#ADHD #NeurodiverseSquad Let's show up for Grace—and every other kid trapped by similar failures of justice—in the biggest way we can. Here's a petition to sign with additional action steps at the bottom. #FreeGrace https://www.change.org/p/oakland-county-family-court-division-and-judge-mary-ellen-brennan-stop-the-school-to-prison-pipeline-grace-should-not-be-incarcerated