Living Loud

By Laura Breen Galante

It’s been a long road for the Bachman family to arrive where they are today – with a healthy, well-adjusted, 25-year-old son thriving despite a neurodevelopmental disorder.

A week after Justin Bachman was born, he was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and given a two-percent chance of survival. After months in the hospital, he beat the odds and was able to go home, but his parents Lisa and Ron were told to expect a myriad of physical-health problems as Justin grew.

“Thankfully, none of that materialized,” says Lisa, an Orlando resident.

Instead, Justin dealt with severe mental health issues. As a young boy, he was defiant, angry, and he lacked social skills. His early years were so traumatic that he attempted suicide three times before the age of 11.

“The first time it happened, we thought, ‘No, he didn’t really mean it, this isn’t really happening,’” Lisa says. “The last time, we realized we have to face this.”

The family sought help and received it in the form of a dedicated social worker.

“We joke that Mary Poppins floated into our lives,” says Lisa, who relocated to our community several years ago.

The social worker dedicated hours upon hours to working not just with Justin, but with the entire family unit including Justin’s two older siblings. They worked as a team for three years to help Justin and give the family the roadmap they so desperately needed

Lisa is now an author and mental-health advocate who proudly supports the Mental Health Association of Central Florida.

A Turning Point

During those years, Justin was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, a disorder known for its tics – sudden, repetitive, and uncontrollable twitches, movements, or sounds. The diagnosis was actually a gift to the family, something accurate and tangible to manage. It made sense for Justin, who was loud and outgoing but sometimes came on too strong.

In eighth grade, Justin joined his school’s cross-country team. He was disqualified from a meet, though, because officials didn’t understand his tics and mistook his actions as purposeful and disrespectful even though Justin and his teammates tried to explain what was happening.

“That was his catalytic moment,” says Lisa. “It showed that he was very different from his peers.”

When the family arrived home, they helped Justin work through his emotions, but they put the ball in his court. He needed to come up with some kind of plan because, unfortunately, not everyone will be tolerant. With little ability to control a large portion of his life, Justin relished the chance to take charge.

Three days later, he approached his parents with a few things he had learned. First, the officials were not educated about his differences, and perhaps if they had been, the disqualification wouldn’t have happened. Second, his teammates, because they were educated, attempted to advocate for him. Third, Justin realized that if he faced intolerance because he was different, chances are, other people were in the same boat.

Justin decided to organize an event called The Tolerance Fair. He intended to contact 15 local charities, ask them to host a table, and he would speak at the event. He called the mayor of their Ohio town and asked to rent the local recreation center. She gave it to him for free. Lisa says she initially expected maybe 20 people to show, but it turned into a packed event with 49 charities and nearly 1,000 people in attendance.

“All for an idea that he cooked up at the kitchen table,” says Lisa.

At the event, Justin delivered a speech he would eventually call Living Loud. He spoke about being proud of who you are, being able to show it off to others, and embracing your differences. The speech resonated with the many teens in the audience, and the family’s phone began ringing with requests for Justin to share his message far and wide. During high school, Justin and Lisa traveled to 16 different states to host school-wide assemblies for kids in grades five through 12. Justin also served as a keynote speaker for many corporations and nonprofit groups. The Tolerance Fair grew into an annual conference, which the Bachmans hosted for five years.

Lisa and Ron Bachman with Justin when he graduated from Syracuse University.

You’ll Never Walk Alone

To date, Justin has spoken to nearly 150,000 people, but that’s not the number that makes mom and son the proudest. That number is 29: the number of kids who approached Justin following a speech to tell him they were considering suicide. Lisa made it her mission to help every one. She shared her phone number, and she put them in touch with local organizations that could help.

The Bachman family eventually formed a nonprofit organization called Different Like You, complete with a teen board of directors, which they ran until 2016. All proceeds from Justin’s speeches went into the nonprofit to help those suffering from mental-health issues.

Today, Justin is a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in broadcast journalism. Lisa, now a fervent mentalhealth advocate, recently published The Book We Wish We Had, a moving memoir about her family’s journey. The goal of the book is to help parents realize they are not alone, and there is help. Proceeds from the book support the Mental Health Association of Central Florida, which focuses on preventative work and education surrounding mental illness.

“I don’t ever want people to give up,” says Lisa. “If somebody needs help, I will be there.”

To learn more about Lisa and her family’s journey, visit CanYouHearIt.org.

Story was originally published in print in Spring 2023.