It was a normal day for Vee. He’s your average 3rd grader, but they aren’t all that average. He has a condition known as Tourette’s Syndrome, which causes uncontrollable movements and speech known as tics.

Vee had recently been diagnosed with the condition, so they didn’t know how to control their tics yet. They weren’t sure how to manage them properly. Kids in his class would make fun of him because of it.

During class, he would sometimes let out a small cough, almost like he was clearing his throat out. He wasn’t clearing his throat. He was ticcing. Some tics can be verbal, while others are nonverbal. A lot of kids would tell him to stop coughing because they didn’t know about his condition.

During Young Scholars one day, one of Vee’s classmates told the teacher about his coughing tic, but she treated it like a distraction. Vee’s teacher got in their face and told them to stop. Vee felt really scared and embarrassed. His tics weren’t something he knew how to properly control yet.

Vee was pretty lonely, since he didn’t have very many friends.

At recess one day, Vee was sitting alone on the swings, since nobody wanted to play with him. Everyone thought he was weird because of his condition.

A few kids came up to Vee and started making fun of his condition, calling him a “weirdo,” and a “faker.”

That was enough. Vee ran off crying. He couldn’t take his classmates making fun of him anymore. He sat under a tree for the rest of recess.

The next day, Vee noticed a young nine-year-old girl from his class approaching him on the swing. That’s when she spoke.

“Hey! I’m Julia. Is it okay if I sit next to you? You seem kind of lonely.” She asked in a very kind and respectful tone of voice.

Vee stayed silent for a moment, then they spoke back.

“Sure, go ahead!” Vee said back. He sounded happy.