Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e8SDnX921296; Thu, 28 Sep 2000 09:49:34 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 09:49:34 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <b5.114e861.2704a5e6@aol.com> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: AWilder106@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:1022] Re: Therapy supports X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Mac - Post-GM sub 146 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 1796 Lines: 35 Jenny, I feel I should reframe this conversation a little. Survivors aren't strong, really. We can do a lot, cope with a lot, but there are fault lines in our characters that people who haven't been abused don't have. And we may always be vulnerable to certain kinds of stress, meaning that memories come back because they are burned into our brain circuits. We have to learn how to cope with a society which stigmatizes us and people who are afraid of us if we open our mouths about these things. I happen to be with a group of people to whom horrible things have happened, to them or their relatives, and my experiences are no more than a drop in the bucket to them. No exactly ho-hum, but par for (some) courses. What happened to me was bad luck. It could have happened to anybody else at any other time, but I was there at the wrong place and the wrong time with the wrong people. The best thing I can say to a teacher is to get the student a referral and then get out of the way. Teach. Good teachers are highly skilled at working with all types of students. Respect what we are trying to accomplish and help us out. Every teacher should put together their own safety net. Depending on the degree of damage medical help may be necessary for some of us. Abuse CAN cause physiological change that medicine helps. It's like a cast for a broken leg, or a wrist splint. I know a lot of teachers don't understand these things and want to help and don't know what to do. Hats off to them. They'll seek answers, like Daphne did. And they'll learn to manage their own issues so as to be better teachers. I did, and so have other teachers who come from a background of abuse. Gotta run--I've got a day job off the list--and thanks for listening. Andrea
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 16 2001 - 14:46:45 EST