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Boy with Tourette's taking stand against bullies
POLK COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- A Polk County Boy is raising awareness about his own neurological disorder.
Jaylen Arnold, 8, says that lots of kids don't understand why he has uncontrollable ticcing due to Tourette's Syndrome.
"It makes you do all different things you can't control--your brain does," he says.
Diagnosed at three, Jaylen says he's gotten used to the odd looks and mimicking. So have his parents Robin and Howard Arnold.
"They bully because they are not aware," Robin said.
But Jaylen is working to change that with a new website he created called "Jaylen's Challenge."
It's got message boards and Tourette's Syndrome facts. His mom even videoed his tics, to show how severe they can be.
Since it launched in May, his website has gotten an average of 5,000 hits a day.
Jaylen says he's committed to answering all the emails himself.
And when he's not online, his outreach comes in the form of bracelets.
He hopes one day to see his "Bullying No Way!" bracelets around the wrists of famous people like, "The Presidents, Oprah," he said.
This "best defense is a good offense" attitude came from Jaylen's dad very early on.
"Speak up for yourself. Defend yourself. Don't just take it," his dad said.
Jaylen's ultimate goal is to purchase educational DVD's about Tourette's Syndrome for each public school in Polk County. He's raising money on his website to make it happen.
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