Litsy

Icy Sparks | Gwyn Hyman Rubio

I'm curious to know what is wrong with her. Some of her behavior can't be controlled. But she also knows that much of her behavior is her choice which is why I don't like her. Yes she's a child but she's mature enough to think before acting and speaking. #halfwaydone #bookclub

BookishFeminist This sounds like the character may have Tourette's Syndrome. Nothing's wrong with her, but it is a disorder where you're unable to control a lot of verbal and physical impulses, called "tics." Lots of people who have it frequently yell out sounds and words and don't have control over it- quite an embarrassing condition to have! 8y

AmyS @BookishFeminist The summary of the book says the girl is diagnosed with Tourette's as an adult so good diagnosing skills! @EmilyChristine I am a special education teacher and while none of my students has a Tourette's diagnosis, this passage reminds me of several of them, particularly my autistic kids. When I am teaching lessons on "expected" behavior and "wacky" behavior or talking through how to deal with these kinds of "trigger" situations... 8y

AmyS ...many of them can tell me exactly what they "should" do but applying that knowledge in those situations is extremely difficult. They are trying so hard to control some of these things that they reach a breaking point (sometimes several times a day) and have outbursts like in the passage. A part of them knows they shouldn't yell/storm out/hit but in that moment, they often can't control it yet, no matter how much they want to... 8y

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AmyS ...Sorry to get all "advocate-y" on you but this is a conversation I have a lot with my students' general ed teachers when I have to explain why the 4th grader with autism can't stop screaming the f-word in the middle of class even though he knows it's against the rules. And I haven't read the book so I may be way out of line. I'm sorry. It just hit a button for me. 8y

BookishFeminist @AmyS ! Good catch- I didn't even think to look at the book description, but I'm glad I didn't give misinformation! You're so right about autistic children too- as with a lot of mental disorders a lot of impulses are hard to control, especially in younger years before they've had the opportunity to develop coping skills that work for them. So many non-neurotypical kids are often just told to stop misbehaving, so I'm glad you work to erase stigma! 8y

AmyS @BookishFeminist Thank you. I love my non-neurotypical kids. They're so much fun. 😊 8y

BookishFeminist @AmyS Ableism is so viral in our culture and I think a lot of it is because we're still weeding out older educational styles & don't know as much about mental health/neurological disorders as we do physical illnesses. Plus it filters into so many behavioral & social situations that it's often hard to see the difference between mental health disorders & just being a jerk. As someone who faces MH struggles, education is so important for all. 😊 8y

BookishFeminist @AmyS You're welcome! They are lots of fun despite the frustrations at times. It's incredibly rewarding I imagine, especially when they finally get the hang of coping skills to make their lives easier! So many invisible hurdles to overcome for these kids. 8y

AmyS @BookishFeminist I'm trying to break down some of these stereotypes, at least in my own school. The most heartbreaking thing is that a lot of my students have internalized these messages and think they are bad/stupid/worthless, etc. I had a 9-year-old tell me, "I'm all beauty, no brains. That's what my grandma always tells me." I *really* wish I could tell of her grandmother but that wouldn't be professional. ? 8y

BookishFeminist @AmyS Yikes! That's awful for her. I'd be tempted to break professionalism for that, too. Very heartbreaking. Honestly I think we should start teaching psychology as part of a health curriculum in schools - it would make things so much better for kids that face struggles like that. 8y

AmyS @BookishFeminist Our school counselors do a little bit of psychology instruction with our students. It's a start. Things definitely seem better than they were when I was a student (not that I was aware of ableism or pedagogy at the time) so I think things are improving overall. I hope. 8y

EmilyChristine I definitely understand what you're saying. And the book takes place in the 50s so things are very different from today. I'm not if she's autistic or not but there are times that she can control her behavior. At least from what I can tell. And by that I mean there are times where she purposely riles up other kids. Other times she can't control it. And in this book she is obviously not getting the right help. 8y

EmilyChristine They sent her to a special hospital for kids but they see nothing wrong with so they send her home. And now I see that she has Tourette's and what she says and does is not controllable. And like in the blurb I posted some people are purposely trying to get her to act out just because they are mean people. 8y

AmyS My students are able to control their behavior sometimes, too. It depends on the intensity of the trigger, how tired/hungry/grumpy they are, etc. And there are other students who try to trigger my kids because they think it's funny to see their reactions and get them in trouble. Kids can be jerks. 8y

EmilyChristine It seems her triggers are being scared and angry. She definitely had a rough life. I'm curious what my book club will think about it. They're all 40 years older than me so their perspective is different from mine. 8y

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