My name is Jaylen Arnold, I am 9 years old and in the 3rd grade. I am ready to change the world through my challenge! I want to STOP childhood bullying! I made this page to help put an end to kids that bully other kids...especially disabled ones.

I am a disabled child who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome (TS - a Neurological Disorder), Aspergers Syndrome (ASP - a broad spectrum Autism Disorder), and severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD - much more than just washing your hands or checking things over and over...believe me)!

I began symptoms of Tourette when I was 2 years old. The diagnosis came at age 3.  The OCD followed by age 4, and more recently, the Aspergers was diagnosed at age 8.

So I am what some might call an alpahabet kid. See look, here is my name: Jaylen Arnold, TS, OCD, ASP (I am beginning to have all the letters of the alphabet behind my name) he!he!

My mom says I'm a kind and loving boy. My dad says I'm really intelligent. IQ test scores say I'm 3 points below genius. But I say, God made me really special and I know that if I try super duper hard, I can do anything I want to do. One day, I'm going to be on the Disney Channel & You Tube educating people about teasing and bullying! And one day, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and The Jonas Brothers will be wearing my armband to help stop bullying! I've never heard her sing, but Oprah has a lot of fans, I know she can help me with bullies. When I grow up, I want to be a dentist (hope my tics don't interfere with me having my hands in your mouth)!

I love all people and all kinds of things - unless your coughing and sick - in that case, I will wave & flap you away because with my severe OCD, I'm really quite the germ-o-phobe. I just can't help it. I can actually feel your germs landing on my toungue if you don't completely cover your cough or sneeze! Even if you are a long way from me. If I can hear you cough, I got the wave going on!

I have complex Tourette's which means I have vocal "tics" and motor "tics" pretty severly. They interrupt my daily living and are quite troubling. If you don't know what "tics" are just hang around and you'll soon find out. (No they are not the bugs - ticks) he!he! I also often yell out the word BAM! for no apparent reason.

There is no cure. They don't really know too much about this disorder. There are very few medicines available and they come with very bad side effects. I'm a little guy so my parents don't want to take a chance on me taking these medicines that can give me a heart problem...so they protect me naturally, the best they can. I just want the "tics" to stop. You control your body, my body controls me (and boy does it ever).  he! he! BAM! 

My parents have always protected my environment by sending me to a private school. At my school everyone is mostly accepting and loving to me. We are like a family. One day, I decided I was a big boy and I wanted to go to regular school. Boy, that was a mistake! My disorders got way worse with the stress. The doctors say my disorders cause me to have a lot of anxiety. I witnessed a lot of fighting and meanness.  I don't like fighting. I was really scared for the other kids to see my "tics" and know that I was different. I was trying so hard to hold them in. I would go to the hall and try to get them out. Eventually, I couldn't hold them in. It's like a big sneeze...you can hold it for a few seconds, but then it just blows out really hard. BAM! I was soon "ticcing" all day long. The other kids were copying my tics. 

One day the teacher put a little sign on me that said I had a medical condition, Tourette Syndrome. My parents really didn't like that too much. It was embarrassing because the kids then knew I had something wrong. Before that, they thought my noises and movements were me being a class clown. I was okay with that, as long as they didn't know the truth! My condition got so bad that I began hurting myself with my tics. I didn't mean to, but my stress and overstimulation was so bad that my "tics" got very hard.

The muscles used to perform the tics were contracting very hard. The Dr. called those "violent tics". I was crying one night because I was hurting so bad, and when my mom saw how I was bruising myself from the tics, she took me out of school. She kept me at home for a bit ~ we made a video for you to see on the videos page. You see when your tics get that bad, it takes weeks or months for those tics to calm down. I had to decompress and become de-sensitized. I am now back at my old school. I love my school. Those kids don't bully or tease me. They love me for who I am and I want ALL kids to experience the same feeling. I am going to do my best to make that happen!

Comments (84)

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I think you are awesome!
written by Jaylin, June 30, 2010

I hope you feel better soon!

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I think you are awesome!
written by Jaylin, June 30, 2010

I hope you feel better soon.

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written by Casey Zaczek, June 30, 2010

I used to get bullied in elementary school quite a bit. The bullying wasn't terrible, though. Still, it's not right whatsoever to be bullied, no matter what your situation. I hope all of you who have gotten bullied are spreading awareness of this horrible thing because to me, bullying is a form of abuse. I am also trying to spread awareness about bullying and trying to get people to understand how severe it is. Good luck to all of you, and, Jaylen, I hope you're doing well.

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who did you get Bullying
written by Ronie, June 29, 2010

Who did you get bullying in school.And what grade was you in wen you got bullying.In i know it was hard for you becuse in my neighood firend bullying me every day.In frut of peaple.

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TELL YOUR SCHOOLS
written by Jaylen Arnold, June 14, 2010

Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments!!! Alot of you keep asking me what you can do to help and that your schools need help with bullying! Please tell your schools to purchase our "Bullying No Way!" packages! THis is the first step to stopping the bullies!

Go to page called "Packages for Schools"! Request me at YOUR school!

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For Casey
written by Jaylen Arnold, June 14, 2010

Thank you for writing to me and telling me your story. It gives me strength, but I have a question, if you are blind, how do you see my website?

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written by Casey Zaczek, June 01, 2010

Hi, Jaylen. My name is Casey, and I am extremely inspired by you and your cause! Although I do not have Tourette's, I do have some degree of OCD, and I know what it's like to be teased and bullied. I am also totally blind, so I've been picked on quite a bit during elementary and high school. Good luck with everything, and I hope you are doing well!

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Good luck Jaylen!
written by Kristen, April 23, 2010

I am 22 and I know what it's like to have OCD. Hang in there and I really hope your cause does well!

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Crusade against bullying
written by Elly, April 01, 2010

Jaylen- what an awesome kid of character! I am amazed that you are fighting against this contagious virus that has spread in all of our schools elementary, middle school as well as high school! My son had been bullied since the 5th grade and we have been battling with it for well over 3+ years. He is a freshman in HS and we are transferring him to another HS for him to hopefully have a clean start. I would love to know how I can help this cause and get programs and more help in my children's schools. I would love to get involved myself and start some positive procedures with other caring parents to get this bullying to cease in our district's schools. Any suggestions for a mid-western mom. Keep up the good work and brave stand! Elly

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written by Deb Adler, March 29, 2010

What an awesome website, Jaylen! I'm going to be writing about it in my blogs. I have written alot about the need for schools to provide safe learning environments for our youth, and you have shown the way to accomplish this. You are an inspiration to everyone of the power of POSITIVE ACTION! You took a negative experience (bullying)and have turned it into a way for others to understand the importance of respect. We are all different in one way or another. Thank you for your courage and originality! I look forward to following your site's development and your future success.

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