Kelly 3: Kelly and the Rabies Scare

Leader’s Guide

Lesson 12

PART 1: QUICK REVIEW OF ALL NINE ICONz®

There are 9 different ICONz®, which are keys that unlock proven ways to help you get along with other people and help you deal with situations in your life. When I go over these keys — or ICONz — I want you to tell me if anything happened since we were last together where you used an ICONz or if anything happened where you could have used an  ICONz but didn’t.

(BRIEFLY REVIEW THE 9 DIFFERENT ICONz. ASK THE LEARNERS FOR RESPONSES AFTER EACH AND FEEDBACK FROM LAST SESSION. ASK THE LEARNERS TO GIVE EXAMPLES OF HOW THEY HAVE USED THE ICONz OR SAW OTHERS WHO COULD HAVE USED THEM.)

PART 2: INTRODUCTION TO THE CHARACTER AND THE SITUATION

Today we’re going to read about Kelly Washington again. I will tell you about Kelly and a situation she was involved in that made her upset and scared and then you can tell me why you think she got upset and which ICONz® could have helped her.

Kelly Washington

Kelly Washington is 16 and recently got her driver’s license.  She works after school part time as a helper at a veterinary clinic that is part of an animal shelter.  Sometimes Kelly has trouble focusing her attention and can get distracted.  When this happens, she can get confused and anxious and forgets things she remembers when she is focused and calm.  She tends to think about situations as only “black or white,” and finds it hard to find the middle ground and be OK with change.  She thinks her parents favor her 18-year old brother and she winds up fighting a lot with him.  She also thinks her parents tend to “baby” her too much and don’t notice that she is getting better about taking care of herself so she often gets angry with her parents.  Kelly wants to have more friends.

She likes to write about her life in her journal.

SITUATION: Kelly and the Rabies Scare

Kelly writing in her journal/diary:

<Note to Leader: Remember to generalize two or more ICONz® in a RECAP section.>

OMG! Today I totally freaked out. Here’s how it happened.

Last week in the animal shelter I overheard Dr. Russell talking to one of the assistants about a soldier in our town who had died of rabies. I’d heard of rabies before because we read To Kill a Mockingbird [Leader’s note:  ask if any Learners are familiar with the novel.] in English Lit and I knew the clinic at the shelter has a Free Rabies Vaccinations day every year, but I didn’t know much about it. (Get The Big Picture) So that night I went online and got totally freaked out. (Watch Your Speed, Get the Big Picture) Soldiers are coming back from Afghanistan with rabies because none of the dogs over there are vaccinated. And getting rabies is terrible because you’ve got to take about two dozen shots IN YOUR STOMACH if you get exposed to it. And a lot of times you don’t even know you have it and you die. (Watch Your Speed, Get the Big Picture, Talk to Your People)  

<RECAP>

So this afternoon when I went to the shelter to work a lady came in with a dog who was drooling really badly. She said her dog had suddenly gotten really sick, so she was bringing him in for Dr. Russell to look at. It sure looked like rabies to me. (Watch Your Speed, Find the Middle Ground, Get the Big Picture, Talk to Your People)  

Julie, the girl at the desk, picked up the dog with her bare hands and I could see that some of the drool got on her hands. I started panicking and yelled, “Julie, put the dog in quarantine and go wash your hands. He might have rabies.” (Watch Your Speed, Get The Big Picture, Take Another Look) Everybody in the clinic waiting room started clutching their dogs close to themselves and a couple of people picked up their dogs and ran out the door. (Find the Middle Ground, Watch Your Speed, Take Another Look)  

<RECAP>

I then tried to explain about rabies to Julie and the lady who had brought the dog in. I told them the symptoms were cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion, and agitation. As the disease progresses, the person may experience delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, and insomnia. And once the symptoms begin, hardly anyone ever survives. (Watch Your Speed, Talk to Your People, Find the Middle Ground, Take Another Look)  

Julie and the lady kept looking at me with weird looks on their faces so I kept telling them about rabies and how if you were exposed you had to get a shots in your stomach. I was right in the middle of sharing the current statistics on rabies when Dr. Russell came in to see what all the commotion was about. He listened for a minute, then said, “Kelly, come with me.” (Take Your Turn, Talk to Your People, Watch Your Speed, Take Another Look, Get the Big Picture)  

<RECAP>

He took me into one of his examining rooms and asked, “What’s going on?” I tried to explain about the drooling dog and the symptoms of rabies and how I didn’t want Julie to get rabies and how the drool had gotten on her hands but I just kept talking and talking and getting more and more agitated. (Watch Your Speed, Talk to Your People, Take Another Look, Get the Big Picture)  

Dr. Russell looked at me and started speaking quietly, “Kelly, lower your needle.” I tried to take deep breaths like I’m supposed to when I get overloaded. (Watch Your Speed)  He just kept reminding me to lower my needle until I was calm enough to listen to him. (Watch Your Speed, Take Your Turn) Then he said, “Kelly, I really appreciate you being so concerned about Julie and the clients in the waiting room, but I don’t think you got the big picture. (Get The Big Picture)  You’re right that rabies is a very serious disease, but it’s also very rare. So we don’t need to upset people by assuming a drooling dog has rabies until we know for sure.” (Take Another Look, Get the Big Picture, Talk to Your People)  

<RECAP>

I felt a little embarrassed then because I had scared off some of Dr. Russell’s customers, but he was really understanding and helpful. He told me to go back down and do my job and he would let me know if the drooling dog had rabies. By then I felt much better and went down and helped Beth clean the cages and feed the dogs and cats. (Watch Your Speed, Get the Big Picture, Talk to Your People, Find the Middle Ground)  

BTW, the dog didn’t have rabies. He was just drooling because he’d gotten into a box of chocolate the lady had left out on her coffee table. (Get The Big Picture)  

<RECAP>

PART 3: DISCUSSION GUIDE (use the questions below to engage the Learners in discussion.)

ASSESS THE CHARACTERS AND THE SITUATION.

1. What made Kelly get so upset in the story?

(She saw a dog drool and thought the dog has rabies.)

2. What happened when she got so upset?

(She became frightened, worried and talked about rabies and scared everyone in the clinic.)

3. Why did people react the way they did when Kelly got upset?

(The people were afraid of the possible rabies – afraid for their dogs and themselves.)

4. Which ICONz could have helped Kelly most in this situation?  Why?

(Watch Your Speed, Talk to Your People, Get the Big Picture and Take Your Turn – Kelly should have calmed and expressed her concerns quietly to an employee at the clinic and then listen to his/her professional knowledge.)

5. What ICONz could have helped the other people in this situation?  Why?

(Watch Your Speed and Talk to Your People – If the people would have calmed down, they could ask if there was any actual threat from rabies.)

PREDICT THE OUTCOME BASED ON WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR.
(Leader elicits possible outcomes from Learners.)

(The situation was resolved.  Refer to outcomes that occurred in the story.)

CHOOSE A COURSE OF ACTION FOR A MORE POSITIVE OUTCOME. (Leader elicits possible courses of action from Learners.)

6. What could Kelly do to make things turn out better for her? (Leader elicits possible courses of action from participants.)

(Kelly could learn that common symptoms don’t mean a serious animal disease.  She also could learn not to make decisions based on too little information. Don’t over generalize.)

GO OVER THE “QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF.” (Group leader elicits possible outcomes from Learners.)

7. What can I learn about myself by paying attention to others around me?

(I might learn how other people see me.  I might learn it’s different than I think.)

8. When I get upset, what would help me?

(I can count to 10, lower my needle (Watch Your Speed), do something different or leave the area if I’m able.)

9. When other people don’t seem to be listening to me, what should I do?  What ICONz would help me?

(I can calmly repeat the question and Get the Big Picture.  It may be the wrong time to talk to them.  I could use Find the Middle Ground to decide when we should talk again.)

GO OVER THE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.

“HERE IS YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT. REMEMBER TO COMPLETE IT BY OUR NEXT SESSION.”

10. Describe a situation in which you were unable to Get the Big Picture and jumped to the wrong conclusions.

11. What did you do?

12. What ICONz would have helped you?

AT THE END OF THIS LESSON, ASK YOUR LEARNER TO CLICK ON THE “COMPLETE LESSON” BUTTON TO ENSURE THEIR PROGRESS COMPLETING THE LESSON IS CAPTURED.