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Return to the beginning of "Telling People About Your Difference" here

Letters from kids without differences here

Letters from kids with differences here

Actual presentations, poems, and essays kids have done about their differences here

Print "The Big Secret" Parts I & II for school staff here

Moderating a youth panel for the Educator's Track of the 2008 TSFC Conference (Newfoundland, Canada)

When I was a kid, I didn't want ANYONE to know that I had Tourette -- I was afraid that NO ONE would want to hang around me then, that people would tease me EVEN MORE once they found out. I used to have nightmares I called "scream-dreams" where I would get called crazy and get locked up when people found out about my "Big Secret"!!

Then some people DID find out I had Tourette....and they STILL wanted to be my friends ANYWAY! I was really surprised, and started to wonder if maybe ALL those people at my school might still want to be my friends if THEY knew that I had Tourette TOO....

Guess what? A lot of them DID!! Some people were still mean and teased me, but hardly ANY! And with all my NEW FRIENDS sticking up for me, that didn't bug me much at ALL. There were MORE people on my side than I thought there would be. I felt so much better INSIDE too -- I wasn't all stressed out holding in my tics anymore, and I knew that I didn't have to be scared that people would think I was a freak anymore. They already KNEW that I had TS, and didn't CARE!! I was so much more relaxed I even found that my symptoms weren't as bad. It was GREAT!! I felt so HAPPY and RELIEVED!

 

Y'know, sometimes people KNOW that you are a little weird, but they don't know WHY. They might think you WANT to be weird, or LIKE being weird, as if that was just who you ARE! When people think you are just "weird", they don't know what to say to you. Then they just don't want to talk to you.

When you tell them WHY you do weird things, and they find out that there is a NAME for the thing that makes you weird, it makes other people feel better about talking to you. Telling people that you don't MEAN to be weird helps people understand you better, and suddenly they LIKE you! Even those who decide they STILL don't like you have a hard time teasing you now, because the people that think you're pretty awesome now think those TEASERS look like the idiots now!! WOO-HOO!!

Now I go into schools all the time and talk to kids about Tourette and OTHER differences too -- sometimes kids are a little NERVOUS about this because they are like I was: they still think that people won't like them anymore if they find out. But NOW WE KNOW BETTER!

 

But why listen to what some goofy adult thinks?? Read on!

 

• See what KIDS WITHOUT DIFFERENCES say about school presentations here!!

• See what KIDS WITH DIFFERENCES say about school presentations here!!

• Ok, so you're convinced to say something in your class now..........but WHAT???! See ACTUAL PRESENTATIONS (poems, essays, speeches) that kids have done by clicking here!!

• Well now YOU'RE all set to go with the right attitude and a good presentation, but does your TEACHER STILL NEED TO BELIEVE that this is a good idea? Download and print HANDOUTS for your teacher about the importance of telling people about your difference by clicking here and reading "The Big Secret" Part I and Part II!!

 

GOOD LUCK!! I'm rooting for you........

Dr. Dunc.

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