While we may not all have had the chance to have someone as remarkable as Paige Bramlett, we have all had teachers who have had a significant influence on our lives.
The former elementary school behavior specialist volunteered to provide a home for one of her youngest students when she discovered he needed stability and a long-term residence.
After almost two years, Bramlett officially adopted the child.
William, 5 years old, and Bramlett interacted for the first time in August 2019.
Bramlett, 20 years old, had just started working as a behavioral consultant at the Indiana elementary school she had attended.
Her responsibility was to be with William for three hours each day.
She said on Good Morning America that “he was quite alone because he didn’t know the coping skills and he really struggled.”
Since I was working one-on-one with him, we spent a lot of time discussing how we behave at school and working on coping strategies and behavioral skills.
Bramlett did her best to focus on skills that “would extend beyond the classroom” because William, who was in foster care, had a lot of difficulties.
When William didn’t show up to class one day, Bramlett was worried.
The child brought his social worker with him when he arrived the next day.
When Bramlett questioned the social worker about what had happened, she discovered that William was in urgent need of a secure family environment.
She contacted her parents, “I’m considering continuing to be William’s forever home.”
William moved in with Bramlett and her parents in January 2020, just a few weeks after turning 24, following her research and foster parent licensing.
William had experienced hardships, but Paige was the first place he lived where there was consistent structure and a sense of “I’m not going to give up on you.”
Since 2017, Julie Hirtzel has been William’s special advocate.
She has done a fantastic job ensuring that William receives the help he needs.
She provides for her child’s needs like any parent would.
Bramlett also gained knowledge about the foster care system and the effects of trauma on children.
According to her, in the Indy Star, “people go into it thinking that love should be enough.”
She began sharing her experience on social media and thus connected with other single foster parents.
William was finally legally adopted by Bramlett in October 2021 when he was seven years old.
He had been in six different foster homes by the time he was officially adopted.
In an interview with WTHR, Bramlett said, “I realized this boy needed a forever home, and I didn’t want him to continue bouncing around, in and out of foster homes.”
It was difficult for him to accept that he would no longer experience changes, according to Bramlett.
“Now looking back, permanency was so needed.
He was searching for it, and I think he feels secure now.
While the mother, son, and their new puppy are still adjusting to their new life, nobody would change the fact that they are living in their own home today.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to say things out loud like “Oh my God, I’m a mom.”
But I’m incredibly grateful for what I’ve received and for my journey as a mother.
You don’t expect it to happen this early, but I’m aware that this is how I was chosen to be a mother.
