When Sarah Hernandez decided to run for office, she was intimidated to say the least. As an autistic woman, the idea of canvassing a neighborhood and building instant rapport with her community seem daunting. But, she got over her fears and won a seat in the school board. The mother of three children, Sarah knew she needed to make a difference in their education. Her bravery has helped lay the foundation for other neuro-atypical people to do the same. If you find yourself ready to make a difference, keep reading for a few tips on how to get started and advice on the people to look for to help you along the way.
Do you qualify?
One of the first questions many people have before running for office is whether they’re qualified. The truth is, even qualifications to run for a high office, such as the president, are pretty straightforward. In most cases, you’re legally required to live in the city or county in which you seek office. There may also be age requirements. It also helps if you have a vested interest in running for office in a particular community.
Getting started
Once you know that you are legally entitled to hold office in your county or state, it’s time to get started on your campaign. This may be difficult, but a good place to begin is knowing where, exactly, you want to make a difference as an elected official. It may be something as near and dear to your heart as bringing more awareness about autism to your school system. Or, your goals could be much broader, and you may wish to work toward opening up more job opportunities for all people with disabilities.
When you are ready, you’ll need to assemble a team of people to help you get the word out. This should consist of someone to help with fundraising, a social media marketing expert, and a web developer.
Your fundraising manager is responsible for helping you procure the money you need to get your message out. They may help canvass neighborhoods with you, launch a phone campaign, or plan and host a fundraising event. Your social media person can help raise awareness, and they may use money generated by your fundraising efforts to purchase advertisements on different social media platforms. These advertisements should link to your website, which your web developer can have set up to go deeper into your message. If you do not have a network of professionals in mind, you can use job boards, like Upwork, to find freelancers to help you in these and other areas.
The hurdles
As a person with autism, you likely come across as extremely introverted. And you may feel uncomfortable with small talk. But, small talk you must, and this means that you have to look for ways to reduce anxiety. Think about your message before you start knocking on doors. Forbes suggests being purposeful and using your curiosity to get a conversation going and keep it that way. Ask lots of questions and try to keep the conversation going by adding personal anecdotes once a dialogue is established. This will help you form relationships and stay fresh in the minds of the voters whose attention you’re trying to capture.
The point to all of this is that you do not have to be considered typical to make a difference in your community. Whether you are a man or woman with autism or simply love someone on the spectrum, you can go out there and advocate for change. But you don’t have to do it alone, there are lots of resources to get you started and plenty of people to help you along the way.
Submitted to us by Ed Carter from AbleFutures.org
