Support Group for Youngsters

This is a list of young trichsters who wants to communicate with other youngsters who understand how they feel.  On the list you won't find e-mail addresses (for a bit of protection of the young people).  Please e-mail Debbie, who is helping me with these requests.  She will supply you with the appropriate e-mail address that are looking for.

You can also ask to make contact with trichsters of a specific age - Debbie will send it to you.

If you would like your name on here, please specify it clearly and supply your age, and location (if you want to), ok? 

More help for young trichsters

Hi guys...I'm trying to get a kids loop started. If you're a kid between the ages of say..12 and 18..and would like to get into a mailing loop with other kids your own age..or would just like to put some other Trich Kids on your buddy list..so you can have someone JUST LIKE YOU to talk to whenever you need it...I'm a trich parent and I KNOW that I can't completely understand what you go through in school ...other kids are so mean...I want you all to have someone you own age to bounce off of. Anyway..I'm trying to get thistogether..so if you want to E-mail me at: Trinski54@aol.com with the following information..then I'll try to organize it all and get a loop together for you. Please...E-mail me . First name, E-mail address, age, city & state, one or two word description of yourself. Thanks a bunch..by the way I'm Sydney's mom ACTREZ2003 and we live in Columbus, OH. :o)

 And a message for youngsters - a letter by Mike Grant - written to a girl who wrote on the TTM mailer -

In a message dated 96-10-20 17:14:07 EDT, xxxxx   writes:

<< My mom tried to get me to see another physchiatrist, but I flat out refused to. I can do this on my own, with help from people who KNOW me. >>

Dear Rebecca,

You are alot like my daughter Terri who is very bright as well as being strong and courageous. The medication the doctor prescribed didn't work for her either and she was very disappointed. Perhaps you are as well? Because his treatment didn't worked as everyone had hoped, she lost faith in his ability and didn't want to see him anymore. Like you, she doesn't want to see any doctor right now. Instead, she wants to deal with her trich on her own terms, just like you. I'm Terri's dad and there is nothing that I wouldn't do to help her because she is my daughter and I love her a whole lot. Maybe your mom feels the same way about you. I know how smart and brave my daughter is and how much she is willing to try on her own. Terri's wants to be a soldier and this summer she went off to military school. She told me about all the things they showed her she could do like reppeling, horsemanship, and even handling the controls of an airplane. Of course, Terri had to be strong and brave, but she needed something else. Terri needed to have someone who was skilled at these things to show her how. You see, I don't know anything about reppeling, horses, or  airplanes and much as I love Terri I could never help her do those sorts of things because I didn't have the skills myself to share with her. It took experts at these things to teach her, even though they did not know her like I do. I am thinking trich may be something like that. I am going let you in on a secret, grownups make mistakes, too. Of course by now, you probably already knew that, right? Parents have to learn as well. I can't tell you how much Terri has taught me about trich. Sometimes I wasn't paying enough attention as I should have been and didn't learn as quickly as I should have. Has this ever happened to you in school?  I am trying to do better now.  I used to think all doctors were the same when it came to trich. But this summer I found out differently. I met some doctors that weren't   anything like the ones I knew before. Terri didn't want to go with me to meet these doctors because she thought they would be like her other ones. I thought the same thing myself until I met them and I am sure glad I did. The problem is Terri doesn't believe me or even her grownup friends with trich who went with me and met these doctors. You seem to be very smart, how do you think I could convince my daughter to met with one of these doctors just to talk about trich and maybe give her some advice? I think she might be alittle scared, sort of like the first time she reppelled down the side of a bluff. Just like her instructor did this summer, I am going to be there to help if she needs me and see she doesn't get hurt. However, Terri has to take that first step on her own. You see, I'm Terri's dad, not her commanding officer so I can't simply give her an order because unlike her military superiors I love her very much and respect her right to choose. Take care and be well. I know your parents must be very proud of you.

Sincerely, Mike

Terri's Dad