Bullied girl with cerebral palsy named prom queen

In many ways, Desaray Carroll is a typical high school teenager.

She texts nonstop, hangs out with her friends, goes to the movies and out to eat.
The 19-year-old Coahulla Creek High School student is surrounded with a family and friends who love and
support her, so much so they campaigned for the student body to elect her prom queen a few weeks ago.
Everyone except Carroll seemed sure she would win. But after a lifetime of being picked on for being
different, she never thought she could be the same as those around her.
"At my old school, I got made fun of," she said. "I didn't want to go to
school. It was really hard. At one point I quit school, but I came back."
Carroll has cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement and posture. People with
cerebral palsy can have exaggerated movements, rigidity of the limbs, involuntary movements,
unsteadiness while walking or any combination of those symptoms.
She struggles with her speech though after a few minutes with her, she becomes easier to understand
and movements on the right side of her body.
So going from the person being picked on to the point of quitting school to being given a title that comes
with such an implication of popularity seemed like a stretch for her.
When her name was called out on prom night announcing she had been named prom queen, Carroll was
naturally and genuinely shocked.
"I didn't believe it," she said. "I really like it here. They don't look at me like I have cerebral palsy."
Carroll's friends and her teachers said they believe it is a great testimony to the student body at Coahulla
Creek.
"Their heart is in the right place," said Josh Swiney, Carroll's math inclusion teacher. "They've been
around her and wanted that for her. She's awesome."

Andy Toth, a sign language interpreter of the school and adviser to the sign language club, of which
Carroll is a member, said he knew the student body was rallying for Carroll.
"I prayed all weekend she'd get it since I couldn't vote," Toth said. "She is a perfect pick for it. We've got a
good student body. They're not caught up in stereotypes. We realize what's real."
Carroll says many things in her life have been hard.
"But it could be worse," she said. "It's hard talking, but when people get to know me, they understand me
better."
She can't even pull her hair back in a ponytail because she doesn't have full use of her right hand.
When Carroll hit middle school, she faced bullying.
Her friends sat at her side talking about how they were all bullied throughout middle school and into their
early high school years. Zenaida Torres remembers other students being especially mean to Carroll. The
two became friends passing each other in the counselor's office where they went to talk through the
problems they each faced.
Now if a student picks on her or if she's having an especially hard day, she simply "doesn't let it bother"
her. She has been inspired by Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker and author who has no limbs. He is a
reminder to Carroll that she is not the only one who faces struggles or who is different.
Her hope and positive outlook serves as an inspiration to not only the student body and faculty at
Coahulla Creek, but to many who have met her.
"Today I had a bad day," Torres said. "She sends me excerpts from Nick Vujicic's book. It helps me a lot.
Even though she had a bad day, she never got sad."
Critical thinking challenge: Who helped Desaray, and who does she help? How does one person
helping another help even more people?
- Posted on May 14, 2013

The Cinnamon Challenge Lands Many Children In Hospital

Editor's Choice
Academic Journal
Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 22 Apr 2013 - 11:00 PDT
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The Cinnamon Challenge Lands Many Children In Hospital

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The "Cinnamon Challenge", which involves trying to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon

without water within sixty seconds, has led to many calls to poison centers, emergency
departments visits and hospitalizations of teenagers who require ventilator support for
collapsed lungs.
Swallowing a teaspoon of Cinnamon within sixty seconds is a nearly impossible challenge. Even on
the online dare, there is a warning: "It's going to burn, you are going to cough, and regret you tried."
The Cinnamon Challenge is a dare that has spread throughout the Internet. While most children
know about it, very few parents and teachers do, researchers from the University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine wrote in the journal Pediatrics.
Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., the George Batchelor Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the
Batchelor Children's Research Institute, said:

"Given the allure of social media, peer pressure and a trendy new fad, pediatricians and parents
have a 'challenge' of their own in counseling tweens and teens regarding the sensibilities of the
choices they make and the potential health risks of this dare. Ingesting and Aspirating Dry Cinnamon
by Children and Adolescents: The 'Cinnamon Challenge."
The authors said that parents need to be told about the Cinnamon Challenge, and they need to
advise their children about the dangers. Parental advice really matters to kids, they added."Schools
and pediatricians should be encouraged to discuss with children the 'Cinnamon Challenge'
and its possible harmful effects."
Co-author Judy Schaechter, M.D., M.B.A., Interim Chair of Pediatrics, was surprised to find out
during a recent dinner with a dozen pediatricians that none of them had ever heard of the Cinnamon

Challenge.
Even though most teenagers who choose to do the challenge endure only temporary effects, the
researchers wrote that poison centers are receiving an increasing number of calls related to
the Cinnamon Challenge, and more kids are ending up in emergency departments and being
hospitalized.
Cinnamon is a caustic powder consisting of cellulose fibers which do not dissolve and are not
biodegradable in the lungs. Animal studies have shown that cinnamon can cause inflammationof the
airways and lungs (if it is inhaled), and it can also cause lesions and scarring in the lungs and
airways. People with asthma, pulmonary cystic fibrosis, chronic lung disease or a hypersensitivity to
spice need to be especially careful.
The authors wrote:

"Although we cannot make a strong statement on documented pulmonary sequelae in humans, it is

prudent to warn that the 'Cinnamon Challenge' has a high likelihood to be damaging to the lungs.
These discussions can also help children learn to weigh the risks and rewards of yielding to peer
pressure when considering senseless and risky behaviors."

Since August 2012, millions of people have watched at least 50,000 YouTube videos of adolescents
and young adults coughing, gagging and chocking as they accept the Cinnamon Challenge. Most of
the participants are aged from 13 to 24 years. This age has the "greatest need for conformity"
(susceptible to peer pressure).
The authors are in no doubt that the growing Internet presence of the Cinnamon Challenge has led
to a significant rise in calls to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. From January
through June 2012, 178 calls related to this fad were made, compared to just 51 during the whole of
2011. Of those calls, 69% (122) were because of intentional misuse or abuse. 17% of callers
required medical attention.
Serious or life-threatening consequences from the Cinnamon Challenge are extremely rare, the
authors emphasized. However, "they are unnecessary and avoidable."