Dilwen Vaughan

Resident Full Name: Dilwen Paisley Vaughan
Resident Date of Birth: October 21, 1997
Resident Age: 14
Resident Gender: Female
Current Address: 5 Ffordd Gwenydd
City/Town: Tywyn
County/State: Gwynedd
Country: Wales

Resident Hair Colour: Light brown
Resident Eye Colour: Hazel
Resident Height: 4'11"
Resident Weight: 91 lbs
Distinguishing Marks: I have a birthmark on my left upper arm. It's purple and sort of shaped like a turtle. I like it.

Do you have any ongoing medical conditions for which you require long-term treatment or medications?

NO.

Are you aware of any allergies you may have to foods, medications or environmental elements? If so, please list them below along with age of onset.

I don't think I have any allergies.

Do you take any other medications or drugs not prescribed to you, or participate in the consumption of alcohol or tobacco?

No.


Where were you born and where did you grow up? What was it like there?

I was born and grew up here in Tywyn. It was nice enough, even if people did keep trying to take me to the beach or the railway or other places that were NOT nice...

Please describe your relationships with your biological family, including parents, and siblings if applicable.

My mother and I get on well. She thoroughly approves of cleanliness, and I am naturally very clean, so she approves of me. I'm afraid of my father. Not that he's ever hurt me, just that he's always so...dirty. It's terrifying to me. I have two brothers, Iago and Sieffre, and a sister, Anwen; they're all older. Iago and Sieffre are really nasty to me, they keep pushing me into really dangerous situations. Anwen understands better. She takes good care of me.

How were/are you in school? How are your grades? Do you enjoy school?

I did okay at school for a while, but my teachers got exasperated with me because I insisted on being clean and being careful. Mum and Da pulled me out after I completely fell apart when they took away my hand sanitizer. I'm homeschooled now, but my grades are okay.

Do you participate in any extracurricular activities or belong to any after-school clubs?

No! I might have gotten dirty or sick or...anything!

If you no longer reside with your biological family, please describe any previous homes as well as your current situation.

I still live with Mum and Da.

Do you have many/any friends? If so, please describe them.

Not really. Most of the other children in Tywyn think I'm weird. My only real friend is Anwen.

Are you sexually active? Are you aware of any gender preference, or preferences in intimate practices, activities or situations?

NO!!!

Have you ever knowingly committed a crime? Were you caught and convicted? If convicted, what was your sentencing?

I didn't know it was No.


Have you ever been diagnosed with any psychiatric ailments by a medical or psychiatric professional? If yes, please explain below.

Note from Dr. Iestyn Priddy, Dilwen's psychiatrist: Dilwen asked me to write the answer to this question, as she cannot spell the clinical names of most of her ailments. In short, she suffers from a number of related phobias: automysophobia (fear of being dirty), spermatophobia (fear of germs), nosemaphobia (fear of becoming ill), and koniophobia (fear of dust). I at first thought she had agoraphobia, or fear of open spaces, but she has no issue with going outside--only if the outside world exposes her to dirt, germs, or illness. In addition, her collective phobias have led her to develop some obsessive-compulsive tendancies, although I hesitate to diagnose her with OCD, as in the time I have been treating her, I have not yet ascertained if her obsessive cleaning, hand-washing, and other incidents are a result of uncontrollable mental impulses or simply a response to her phobias. Recently, I have added a diagnosis of erotophobia, or fear of sexual love or sexual questions. Mrs. Vaughan attempted to add sexual education to Dilwen's curriculum, and she experienced a panic attack similar to ones she has had in response to her other phobias.

Mr. Vaughan asked me if he thought I could uncover the "reason" for her various phobias; he seemed to be convinced that these phobias stemmed from some sort of incident with lingering trauma. I explained to him that, on the contrary, a phobia is something with no rationality behind it. Several incidents have triggered panic attacks in Dilwen, but in four years of therapy, I have determined that these are genuine phobias and not PTSD or related to trauma in any other way.

Please describe any incidents associated with these ailments, such as antisocial behaviours, social or environmental difficulties, incidents of self harming, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, substance abuse, etc.

Mostly I'm just WAY cleaner than most people. I carry a bottle of hand sanitizer with me everywhere I go--I have a whole bunch of different scented ones, and I change them out depending on what colours I'm wearing that day--and I wash my hands whenever I get the chance. I wear long sleeves and long pants and I'd wear gloves all the time and a face mask if I could get away with it, but Mum won't let me in the house and Da won't let me go out with him like that, so I just do it sometimes. But like I said before, I don't have any friends really, because when I get dirty or when I'm in the presence of germs or something like that, I have really bad panic attacks, to the point where I have trouble breathing. I've passed out a couple of times.

Have you ever seen a licensed psychiatric professional, psychologist, or counsellor for these ailments? If yes, please list doctor(s) or counsellor(s) below:

I've been seeing Dr. Iestyn Priddy for the last four years--since right before I stopped going to school. That was when Da finally convinced Mum I had a problem, that I didn't just "like being clean". (I don't think I have a problem, I mean, but Da does.) I never saw anyone before that, but I've had these phobias my whole life, I think. Anyway, I don't remember not being afraid of getting dirty, or of dust, or of getting sick. I wasn't exactly afraid of germs until I found out what they were, but Dr. Priddy says that goes with my phobia of getting sick. And the last one--I don't know.

Do you take any medications for any diagnosed psychiatric ailments? If yes, please list medication, dosage, and frequency of dosage below:

I don't take any medication.

Have you ever been admitted to a short or long-term psychiatric facility as a result of these ailments or associated incidents?

Yes. When I had my second really bad panic attack--the one that made me pass out--I was at school, I'd been in Physical Education, so they insisted on taking me to the hospital. When I woke up, I was in a hospital and I had a roommate and I HEARD her coughing and started to have another panic attack. The doctor put me in the psychiatric ward of the hospital for three days. That's when Dr. Priddy examined me for the first time. He discharged me, but had Mum and Da bring me for weekly appointments.

How do you feel these ailments affect your quality of life or your situation in life?

I think they make it awful. I can't go outside and play--I might get dirty--or go for a walk when it's raining because the mud gets EVERYWHERE, and I don't have any friends because they think I'm weird, and anyway they could get me sick. I don't even have a cat or a dog, because they bring in dirt and germs and they make dust balls...

If you could be cured of your ailments, what would your goals in life be?

If I wasn't afraid of dirt and germs, I should like to be a veteranarian. Wouldn't that be the ultimate conquering of my fears?

How do you feel these goals would be best attained?

As I said, I would need to overcome my fears. I just don't know how.

Why do you feel you are being referred to Highgrove, and by whom?

I think it's because of Da, actually. He works on the railroad, so he comes home covered in grease and dirt, and it sends me into a panic. He can't handle it anymore. And I hardly ever come out of the house, except to go to Dr. Priddy'


Hello, and thank you for meeting with me today. Our interview today will be recorded for review later. I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I'd like for you to answer as fully as you are able. I'd like to start by asking you how you're feeling today.

I'm feeling all right, actually.

Patient Observation: The patient's speech is slightly muffled, as she is wearing a surgical mask.

Okay. And how are you feeling about this opportunity to join our family at Highgrove?

Nervous. I don't know what kinds of germs I might be exposed to. And do they take care of the dust? I mean, I'm sure they do, but...

Patient Observation: The patient becomes slightly agitated, and pauses before continuing.

Don't get me wrong. I want to go. I want to meet people who can maybe help me. But I don't want to get sick.

If you could alter one event in your life, what event do you think you would change or remove, and why?

I got chicken pox when I was six. It was horrible. I don't ever want to go through anything like that again. I would get rid of that.

If you had to describe yourself in only three words, what words would you choose and why?

Small, smart, and...um...phobic.

How do you feel currently about your life so far, and anything you may have done?

I'm okay with most of my life so far, but I wish I hadn't freaked out so badly over my hand sanitizer. If I'd stayed calm, maybe things wouldn't have got so bad.

What would you do if you found a stranger being attacked by another stranger, and why?

Run away and tell somebody! The person needs help, but I can't touch them, because I might get dirty or sick...

What would you do if you were being threatened by a stranger, and why?

Run away and tell an adult I trust. That's what you're supposed to do--right?

Have you ever deliberately harmed yourself, another, or animals in the past? If so, why do you think that was?

No, of course not! Although...well...Iago says using so much hand sanitizer is bad for me, and it's hurting me because I won't have enough resistance to germs and I'll get sick more easily. But I didn't do it on purpose...

And lastly, what do you hope to find at Highgrove, and how do you think this will help you to learn and grow?

I hope I find a way to live without letting my fears get in the way. I want a safe, sanitary environment where I can learn all the things I'm supposed to learn.

This concludes our interview for today. Thank you for filling out our application and speaking with me. We will contact you or your guardian shortly with our decision or recommendations. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your day. Goodbye.


Is there anything your character is not telling us? Do they have any dirty or dark little secrets they're omitting from their application? Please explain below.

Mostly, she told everything. However, there are two secrets she kept. One is that when she says her brothers (ages 17 and 16) teased her, they had a habit of throwing clumps of dirt or mudballs at her, just to watch her freak out. It often sends her into panic attacks.

The other is the incident that pushed her parents to finally send her to Highgrove. Iago (the older brother) rolled in a mud puddle and came up to her room. Dilwen, who had been scrubbing her floors, panicked and threw her bucket of water at him. The water was mixed with bleach. Iago could have been very badly hurt, especially since it got in his eyes. Dilwen's parents, obviously, did not press charges, but they went to Dr. Priddy and asked him to come up with SOMETHING.

Player Nickname: Bre
Player Chatango Name: BreS13
Character Playby: Tessa Allen

But don't fret! Just follow the steps given to you below and edit your application appropriately. When you're done, please reply to this thread to let us know that the application has been edited, and we will review it again.

• Super small pend so fear not! We just need a little more information on Dilwen's phobias. When did they start becoming apparent and how long has she had them? Was this something she seemed to have her entire life or did any events trigger them?
  

Edited a couple of the questions to (hopefully) satisfy your requests! Let me know if I need to fix anything else.

Resident Full Name: Dilwen Vaughn
Resident Age: 14
Resident Gender: Female
Known Diagnoses: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - After reading this interview the head of psychiatry has deemed this OCD and not the previously diagnosed phobias.

Dormitory Number: Dormitory 5
Bunk Number: 03 Top
Assigned Chores Group: Farm Allotment Chores
Assigned Therapist: Dr. Matthias Savage

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