Troubled Children : Shape of things to come?

October 23, 2006

October 22, 2006Troubled ChildrenLiving With Love, Chaos and HaleyBy PAM BELLUCKhttp://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/health/22kids.html (a long article)PLYMOUTH, Mass. — When Haley Abaspour started seeing things that were notthere — bugs and mice crawling on her parents’ bed, imaginary friendssitting next to her on the couch, dead people at a church that housed herpreschool — her parents were unsure what to think. After all, she was alittle girl.“I thought for a long time, ‘She’s just gifted,’ ” said her father, BejanAbaspour. “ ‘This is good. Don’t worry about it.’ ”But as Haley got older, things got worse. She developed tics — dolphinsqueaks, throat-clearing, clenching her face and body as if moving herbowels. She heard voices, banging, cymbals in her head. She becameanxiety-ridden

over run-of-the-mill things: ambulance sirens, train rides.Her mood switched suddenly from excitedly chatty to inconsolablydistraught.“It’s like watching ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘The Exorcist’ all at thesame time,” Mr. Abaspour said. "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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