05/29/2019 09:45:17 AMGrowing up as a minority in rural Missouri, Ashley Ramclam saw peers and family members suffer, not receiving the mental health services they needed.
“I can recall overt and subtle acts of racism that, when coupled with limited access to culturally responsive care and the stigma of mental health, resulted in many unmet needs,” said Ramclam, now a school psychology student at the University of Houston College of Education. “The system left some so vulnerable that they became textbook examples of the school-to-prison pipeline.”
The experiences set Ramclam on a mission to address disparities in mental and behavioral health services that impact ethnic minority youth. She’s developed a particular interest in helping students of color with autism spectrum disorder.