Jaylen Arnold, a Florida resident, radiates inspiration and continues to help others as well as educate kids and parents alike about one of our country's most disturbing growing trends - bullying.
Recently Jaylen took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions about his crusade and his mission to help millions of children. Don't forget to watch his PSA at the end of this article.
Part 1:
1.Why and when did you create http://www.jaylenschallenge.org/ ?
My website was created in May of this year. I created it because I wanted to find a way to help kids that were still getting bullied.
2. Tell us a bit about Tourette's Syndrome? When were you diagnosed with Tourette's?
I was diagnosed with TS at 3 years old. Tourette Syndrome is this little thingy in your brain that makes your body do tics(move and make noises) when you don't want it to. You can control your body, my body controls me.
3. Many parents are exhausted of hearing labels; however you are a shining example of perseverance. You reference yourself as an "alphabet" kid - explain that to us?
Well, that's because I have Tourette Syndrome, Asperger's, and Obsessive Compulsive. When you have a disability, the doctor's always write it by your name and they abbreviate it to make it easier. So I have TS (Tourette), ASP (Asperger's), and OCD (obsessive compulsive) which is a lot of letters of the alphabet!
4.You are determined to be a voice to fight bullying (which I may say you are definitely a voice to be heard). Explain to us how bullying has effected you and how you are helping others learn how to prevent bullying.
When I was copied and laughed at for my tics, it made my Tourette's much worse because it stressed me and then my Asperger's was getting all overworked because Aspergers is part of Autism and I was a real mess. My mom took me out of school for a little while and then put me back to my old school where I wasn't made fun of. I'm teaching kids about bullying because when I went back to the school that made fun of me later and told them about my problems, the kids listened and they said they were sorry. So I just thought and talked to my mom and said "this is easy, someone just needs to tell all these bad kids". I had seen kids get physically bullied at that school when I went there.
5. You mentioned that public school was difficult for you. Do you feel that we need more education and awareness about bullying in public schools and how to you think we can do this?
ABSOLUTELY!!! Just call my mom or email us through my website. We will COME to your school and teach your kids about bullying and why you shouldn't do it! Or if mom won't let me come that far, they will send you all the stuff and we tell you how to do it with the whole school.
Click here for part 2.
Watch his 60 second PSA - learn more about Jaylen Arnold!
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