Summary Of What Happened To The Girls In Le Roy

After doing research into the mysterious case of Le Roy, New York, it appears there was a great amount of media attention when the cases of sick students first occurred, especially when Erin Brockovich became involved. However, since 2012 the case has been at a standstill. Every news article published only explained the situation and the conditions of the affected students, but did not cover any updates in the case. There are no articles discussing legal issues, a possible lawsuit, or any information Brockovich and her team may have discovered. The entire outbreak of sick students seems to be explained away as conversion disorder, which is a mental disorder that can affect a variety of neurological senses.
The conversion disorder affects
nervous system functions which includes body movement, swallowing, hearing, blindness, paralysis, and other neurologic symptoms that cannot be explained due to a medical reason (“Functional Neurologic Disorders/Conversion Disorder,” 2017). These symptoms are brought on unintentionally and an affected person has no control over their symptoms, which is why this disease can be so difficult and frustrating to deal with. The causes are not known, although it is thought that it can occur from stressful or traumatic events, anxiety, or from a possible neurologic disorder such as an infection, injury, epilepsy, and so on (Functional Neurologic Disorders/Conversion Disorder, 2017). Using this information and comparing it to the case of Le Roy, New York, it is easy to form an opinion; the students were affected by the conversion disorder, not by environmental toxins.
The affected teenagers had symptoms such as uncontrollable tics, fainting, weakness, and unintentional cries of pain or humming.
In the article, What Happened to the Girls in Le Roy by Susan Dominus, the girls all claimed to not be stressed out, yet they had triggers that could be the root cause of their condition. Most of the girls had strained relationships with their father, if any relationship at all, and worried about their family’s financial stability. Both of those situations could easily be subconscious triggers that could develop into the conversion disorder. Another reason more cases appeared and existing conditions worsened was because of the media attention. Doctors claimed they, “saw an increase in cases, which they attributed to sensational coverage and increased stress. As more girls got sick, the story got bigger, and then more girls got sick,” which is confirmation that the more attention they received, the worse their condition became (Dominus, 2012). Also, if the sickness truly was caused by toxins, it does not make sense only a handful of students were affected. The two toxins, cyanide and trichloroethylene (TCE), would have drastic effects on everyone in the community because they are potent chemicals. The last reason I do not believe in the toxic environment is because the entire situation resolved itself. Once the momentum slowed down, the girls recovered and no further investigation occurred. If there truly was a dangerous environment, it would still be on the national news and everyone’s
radar.