| Many children with disfigurements have low self-concept as a result of their beliefs about themselves and about what society thinks about them. Some disfigured children are teased, taunted, stared at, and made to feel inferior to those perceived as normal. Many have no idea how to respond to the ridicule and, therefore, may become withdrawn or turn to negative tactics to defend themselves. The objective of this qualitative research is to study how creating, illustrating, and telling a story when asked to use one's visible difference in some context of the story might affect children with visible differences.;The study participants included two children, ages 10 and 12, who were identified by mental health professionals as struggling with being visibly different. Participants were guided to construct a story using their disfiguring condition in the story in some manner. Children selected to be in the study had to represent one of three types of disfigurement---congenital, traumatic, or disease process. They were seen over a period of six weeks and provided with paper, pencils, crayons, and markers to complete the task. The participants were interviewed initially and upon exit. The interviews were semi-structured and were used to identify some of each participant's experiences as a person with a disfigurement and to address their storytelling experiences.;After the initial interviews, children individually constructed their stories with the assistance of the researcher. These sessions were conducted for 6 weeks, twice a week for one hour. During the final session, children were asked to read their stories to peers or family members. Following this session, the exit interview was conducted. Data were gathered throughout the study and consisted of interviews, observations, videotaping and recording, and memo writing. Research took place in an inpatient setting at a mental health hospital in the mid-west. Both participants were patients on the residential unit at the hospital, which was for individuals who were physically aggressive on a persistent basis. Each had entered the hospital on the acute unit, which was for individuals who had harmed themselves or another. It was not until the participants were on the residential level that they were allowed to participate.;Results of the study suggest that children with disfigurements will like creating a story with their visible difference integrated into the story, even when faced with challenges during the process. Findings also revealed that these same children may discuss their visible differences while creating the story and may identify how they respond to others regarding their visible difference. Results also indicated that visibly different children would also like to read their stories to others, not just family members. |
