PTSD Claims–Thokeca

It’s to help kids like that that Brannan and her volunteers put together an informational packet on secondary trauma for parents to give to teachers, explaining their battle-worthy idiosyncrasies and sensory-processing sensitivities.

• This is a factual claim, as this phrase claims that Brannan made the packet and for what purpose.
• “Kids like that” is incredibly vague, even if it does make more sense in context when referring to Kateri Peterson’s eight year-old, who “counts the exits in new spaces he enters” for the safety of his family.
• “Battle-worthy” implies that a child, if having similar issues to a war veteran suffering from PTSD, is in any way worthy for war. Perhaps this is a way to further push the claim that the child is unlike most children by presenting the argument as if children of veterans are “different”.

They’re common enough problems that the Department of Health and Human Services got in touch with Brannan about distributing the packet more widely.

• The first part, “They’re common enough problems,” is an extremely vague numerical claim with the phrasing “enough.” However, any amount could be “enough” and therefore isn’t exact enough to be any sort of proven claim.
• The rest of the quote is factual, as the claim can be proven as true or false through whether or not the Department of Health and Human Services actually got in touch with Brannan.
• “More widely” is also extremely vague, as it could range from across the country to the next town over.

Brannan gave the packet to Katie’s kindergarten teacher, but thinks the teacher just saw it as an excuse for bad behavior.

• This is a factual claim, as it cannot be disputed what exactly Brannan THINKS.
• However, the claim that “the teacher just saw it as an excuse for bad behavior” is an evaluative claim and could be easily disputed in any way.

Last fall, she switched Katie to a different school, where she hopes more understanding will lead to less anxiety.

• Another factual claim as well, as this is Brannan’s thoughts.
• “More understanding will lead to less anxiety” is a causal claim, as it claims that more understanding causes less anxiety.

Though Brannan hopes Katie will come out of childhood healthy, she still says, “She’s not a normal kid. She does things, and says things. She’s a grown-up in a six-year-old’s body in a lot of ways.”

• The claim that Brannan SAID this is factual. However, Brannan’s claim is evaluative, as it evaluated Katie’s actions from observations and can be disputed.
• “She’s a grown-up in a six-year-old’s body in a lot of ways.” This phrase is very much evaluative and is in fact impossible, as a “grown-up in a six-year-old’s body” cannot exist through maturation. However, it’s very strongly used also as an analogy claim, as Katie’s state of being “not a normal kid” makes her like an adult.
• This claim is used to drive home the notion that children of veterans with PTSD are “different”.