I was 2 when I started seeing a orthodontist. He was just starting his practice and i was a education for him. He only charged us for parts and not labor. When I started school I think it was the 2nd grade when the teasing started. I had speech therapy 2 or 3 times a week so just getting out of class made me "different" from the other kids. I learned early on to play by myself and I believe its then that my sense of humor started to develop. There was never a question of NOT going to school...it just wasn't an option. And back then, kids (at least me) didn't grab a gun and take it to school to deal with bully's. Kids had fights if they had a problem with each other. I was raised not to fight and was told that if I got hit in the face it could undo all the surgeries that I had. If I told my Mom about being teased, she always said just ignore them, it will hurt them more than it does you. That's not true.