TSSS Education Booklet - Turner Syndrome Support Group (NZ)

JBeing perceived as the age they arerealise that they have been misunderstood. This may also lead to problemswith peer relationships. Teasing may be misunderstood and taken seriouslyrather than laughed off. It is not always easy for a girl with TS to recogniseand respond to facial expressions, and this can lead to misunderstandingswhen they are in social situations.Given their small stature there may be a danger of a girl with TS either beingpicked on as someone small and vulnerable, or patronised and treated as amascot by peers. While the child may enjoy being ÒbabiedÓ for a time and findit comfortable and reassuring, neither situation is helpful to the child as theygrow towards maturity and independence. In conversation with girls, andeven women, with TS this is an important issue for them.BullyingGirls with TS appear to pass through a stage where they seem to beimmature for their age and they find it hard to maintain friendships with theirpeers. This can lead to isolation and increasing loneliness, particularly atplaytime and during breaks. Bullying is one of the most common problemsexperienced by most girls with TS. They are easy targets and find it difficultto tell someone if anything is happening to them. The girls are very good atpretending that everything is fine when it is not. They often display what isclassed as attention seeking behaviour, when what they are trying to do isspend time with a teacher or other adult to find a way to tell them they arebeing bullied.Social Problems related to Spatial UnderstandingIf the girl with TS is spatially disordered this may affect their socialrelationships. They may be rigid and inflexible with regard to the behaviourof others. They may have poor manners. They may invade someone elseÕspersonal space, and not be able to understand the effect on others ofsomething they have said or done. This can make relationships with teachersdifficult as they may need a rigid adherence to a pattern and have difficultyunderstanding exactly what is expected of them.The spatially disordered person struggles with order in the environment andmay either give up trying to maintain order completely and live in chaos, ortry to impose a rigid and inflexible order on their world. This can have socialimplications as well as academic ones.5