When Oanh Bui immigrated to the United States in 2006 from Vietnam as a single mom of a daughter with multiple disabilities, she struggled to navigate the American special education system. She searched out parental support groups, finding none for Vietnamese parents, or with any resources in Vietnamese. Oanh needed not only technical support in getting her daughter adjusted to life in a new country, but also social support, both for her daughter and for herself. “It can be really lonely having a child with disability within the Vietnamese community because of the social stigma,” Oanh reflected.
Working alongside a few other parents she met in her community, Oanh began to develop bilingual resources for other families just like her own, foster relationships with fellow Vietnamese parents, and create spaces for youth and family socialization allowing children with autism and disabilities to feel a part of a community. In 2017, she took these lived experiences with special education laws, public school systems, and parental rights and founded Vòng Tay Cha Mẹ Việt (The Circle of Vietnamese Parents or VTCMV).
Not only does the organization serve as a support group and social outlet for parents and families, the VTCMV team works directly with families and schools to mitigate issues they are facing. This includes supporting Individualized Education Program meetings, providing resources ranging from guardianship laws to disability accommodations, and helping parents communicate with schools across language and cultural barriers.
One single dad lacked information on how to help his son with autism. His family denied his son’s diagnosis, fearing the stigma that comes alongside having a child with a disability. Fortunately, he found the Circle of Vietnamese Parents in their early days and was able to access information in a language he understood, enabling him to advocate effectively for his son’s appropriate services, and to develop skills needed to share his family’s journey. Now, ten years later, he is still involved with VTCMV, working with other parents who are struggling with the same issues he once faced.
“He first came in as the person learning new things… and now he is a leader, coming back to help other parents,” shared Chau Nguyen, who serves as VTCMV’s Executive Director. Much of their advisory team consists of original members of Oanh’s support group who have gone through training, grown into leaders and advocates, and continue to welcome new parents into their VTCMV community.
VTCMV has grown from a support group of a few families, now reaching over four hundred families in Massachusetts. Since 2020, VTCMV has begun providing weekly online gatherings, allowing the organization to reach a larger audience nationwide and provide accessible, much-needed support to Vietnamese families. To better equip families, the organization started inviting experts from various fields to provide relevant bilingual workshops related to special education, healthcare access, mental health, self-care, and parental rights that center cultural values.
Chau is particularly proud of VTCMV’s youth inclusion programming, which provides space for Vietnamese youth both with and without disabilities to engage together. “Our kids have abilities, just like other ones. They can have fun; they can go to school; they can go to the movies. We’re fostering an environment where all of them can feel like they belong,” reflected Chau. Similarly, their annual community events (including family picnics, holiday gatherings, and cultural celebrations) allow all types of families to gather together and feel connected to their own culture, and to each other.
Since becoming a Lenny Zakim Fund grantee partner in early 2025, the VTCMV team has been taking advantage of LZF’s capacity-building offerings. Alongside financial trainings and seminars on organizational sustainability, they are incredibly grateful for their experience working with a legal consultant through LZF’s Catalytic Consulting program. Chau shared, “usually we have to navigate it as an executive team, we have to read the laws and interpret it ourselves. Now we feel like we have someone [who has] our back, and we can always turn back and say that we don’t understand it, can you explain it to us?”
The other bonus of receiving LZF funding have been the relationships they have formed with their peer grantee partners and the collaborations that have followed. In October, VTCMV was invited by RICEMA, a Worcester-based cultural arts organization, to participate in RICEMA’s Mid-Autumn Festival and host a table to share resources and welcome attendees into the VTCMV community. VTCMV has also begun working closely with Circus Up, a Boston-area circus-arts organization, to incorporate accessible circus arts into VTCMV’s youth programming.
VTCMV is planning their inclusive autism-friendly annual Lunar New Year event which will take place on Sunday, February 22 in Dorchester. This is the biggest annual event that VTCMV hope to bring community members regardless of abilities to celebrate the Vietnamese cultures. Chau and Oanh have significant plans for how the organization will continue to grow this year, but above all, they are happy to be able to continue making a difference in the lives of families in their communities. Years after founding the organization, Oanh still treasures being able to share her own personal experiences with other parents and help them navigate the system. She shared, “our team is dedicated and works diligently each day so that other parents don’t feel that they walk this journey alone.”
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Current needs at Vong Tay Cha Me Viet include funding/donations, collaborations with other organizations working with Asian communities, youth, and disability accessibility, as well as support building out an online resource platform. To learn more about their work, visit their website here.
