Miranda: Road to Social Acceptance
Miranda*, almost 11, stepped heavily out of the school bus and onto the pavement. She squeezed between two rusty old cars and trudged up the fractured sidewalk toward her home in north Minneapolis. As she plodded homeward, she could feel her damp underwear beneath the old sweatshirt and pants the school had loaned to her. Her own clothes were contained in the plastic bag she carried. Earlier that day as she had bent over to collect pond water for a science project, a classmate had pushed her into the lake. She was absolutely soaked. Everyone had laughed at her. She hated them all. She hated school. She hated everything.
At school, students persistently tormented Miranda. They harassed her about everything including her weight, unkempt hair, rumpled clothes, and the acne on her face. They ridiculed and taunted her until she went berserk. She typically shutdown, collapsed to the floor and cried, lashed out in retaliation, or ran away. The torture made Miranda feel sick and caused her to be absent 80% of the time due to headaches, stomachaches, and various other ailments. She was an angry girl who was not progressing academically.
“I have no friends because everyone hates me,” Miranda thought to herself as she opened the twisted screen door to the house where she was greeted by two German Shepherds and five cats. She was home and the air was thick with the typical odors of cigarette smoke, fried food, and cat pee. “Shut the (expletive) door,” her mother bellowed from the other room.
Home was no relief. Miranda’s single mother was unable to work because of mental health issues including Bipolar Disorder. As a result, she had significant financial problems, which caused the home to fall into disrepair. It was also a filthy mess. Miranda’s mother was a large woman who screamed often and preferred swearing to more conventional vocabulary.
In her presence, Miranda felt she could never do anything right. A social worker at school became aware of the Miranda’s difficulties at home and school and referred her to the Volunteers of America-Minnesota (VOA) Children’s Mental Health Case Management program which offers coordination of various services that enable children with emotional disturbances to remain living at home. The family was assigned a case manager who identified and managed various services. A VOA Mental Health Clinics psychiatrist evaluated Miranda and diagnosed her with depression and anxiety, while ruling out Bipolar Disorder, and she completed mental health day treatment program to help deal with these issues. VOA therapists worked with Miranda regularly to help her develop coping skills, decrease her anger, worries and impulsiveness, as well as increase her self-esteem. VOA’s RSVP-Telefriends program helped Miranda improve her reading skills by reading books with her over the phone. Gradually, Miranda began to make progress. The turning point came in August 2009, when Miranda and her mother moved to a new apartment in a Twin Cities suburb. VOA’s therapists prepared Miranda for the starting class at the new school with a combination of social skills development and role-playing.
Miranda applied what she learned and made three friends the first day. Today, Miranda is 13, in the 8th grade, and is blossoming. She takes better care of her personal hygiene and her acne has cleared up. She participates in a friendship group at school and is on the Yearbook Committee. For the first time in her life, she has friends and has been invited to a birthday party. Miranda will tell you, “Now that I have friends, I am happy and look forward to going to school. I used to hate reading. Now I ask to go to the library.”
*The subject’s name and certain details have been changed for confidentiality. The individual in the photo is a model.