Officials at Le Roy Junior-Senior High School are angry over media coverage of the case that has the country focused on their community. They say they have been responsible in dealing with the behavior of, and reaction to, more than a dozen teen students believed by physicians to have "conversion disorder". Are battle lines being drawn between those who think the tics and twitches may be caused by environmental factors – and medical professionals who have examined the teens?

Dr. Drew and his guests consider the controversial possibilities.

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The following is a statement just released by Kim Cox, Superintendent of the Le Roy Central School District:

Letter to the Community

February 1, 2012

Over the past few days, activities that have occurred in our community with respect to environmental testing by a representative who claimed to be working on behalf of Erin Brockovitch have taken center stage. This has been a distraction and taken us away from our mission to return normalcy to our school District, which every medical professional says is critical for the health and well-being of all students in our schools. As we have communicated, we have been working closely for months with numerous medical professionals, the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. All of these agencies and professionals from these agencies have assured us that our school is safe. There is no evidence of an environmental or infectious cause. Environmental causes would not discriminate. We would see a wide range of people affected.

The community should take assurance that the Department of Health concluded extensive reviews of both the epidemiology and the clinical evaluations and found no evidence of environmental or infection as the cause of the students’ illness. Again, an environmental exposure would affect many people. The school was tested for total Volatile Organic Compounds by an independent firm. The school is served by the Monroe County Water Authority. This system is monitored on a regular basis. In addition, we have just been informed that water samples taken from the inside of the school as an additional precaution have been tested and determined to be safe. The treating physicians at the Dent Institute ruled out PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders associated with Streptococcal infections), a condition that sometimes causes this behavior. The Gardasil vaccine was ruled out because many of the girls did not receive the vaccine.

In addition, to help assist the district with assessing all aspects of this situation, we hired our own independent environmental expert to conduct a review of the findings and offer alternative approaches if needed. This was done not because we questioned the state medical professionals or federal agencies, but to help reassure the community. There are also some individuals who are attempting to connect the 1970 Lehigh Valley Railroad train derailment that spilled Trichloroethene (TCE) to the school. In fact, the TCE plume has been shown as moving in the opposite direction of the school, some three miles away.

The individual who came onto school property this past Saturday did not identify himself, did not show his credentials, and did not contact us ahead of time to offer assistance or coordinate with our efforts. Nor did this individual demonstrate that the testing approach was in accordance with scientific methods. It was clearly staged as a publicity stunt with members of local and national media invited to participate. We know this because the media arrived well in advance of this individual. In fact, one member of the media entered the school without permission and interrupted the preparations for an on-site program. Of course they were asked to leave. I am charged with keeping this entire school, staff, students and grounds safe. Not knowing this individual’s intention, I had no idea if he was there to get something or leave something.

Our administration and staff are exceptional and have been diligently working under stressful situations to try to maintain a supportive educational environment. This has been extremely challenging given the irresponsible tactics and programming by the national media. Speculation and reporting of erroneous information by those who have none of the information that has been compiled over months of study by leading professionals is confusing our community. It is also heightening the level of anxiety of all our students and especially jeopardizing the recovery of those affected students, many who had recovered or been showing signs of improvement. These kids want to get better. As a community, we need to support each other and these students by ensuring our school environment is nurturing and safe. I want to thank the members of our local media who have been engaging in responsible reporting.

I know we all want what is best for the children. We are all frustrated, tired and saddened by this turn of events as it is affecting the entire community. I am confident we will work through it, but I do believe it will take some time. My role as Superintendent of this District is to ensure I am providing the best possible educational environment conducive to learning and allowing our children to excel to the best of their ability. I am not an environmental scientist or medical professional, and therefore, cannot always be the spokesperson for highly technical and medical explanations nor answer questions that require in-depth technical knowledge. Questions of this nature must be addressed to those professionals and answered by these professionals. I have been trying to increase the direct communication from these agencies as well as putting forth new information as it is received. I know it is frustrating not to have definitive answers or wait for test findings. I want to assure you that all technical professionals involved are doing everything they can to expedite the process and communicate any new information as it is received.

I know this has been an emotionally hard situation and we all hope for the speedy recovery of our students. Please know we welcome your questions and suggestions, and take all under consideration. We will continue to communicate with you as soon as we have new information to share.

Kim M. Cox
Superintendent of Schools

Lana Clark and Charlene Leubner both have daughters that are being affected by Tourette-like symptoms in Le Roy, New York.

Dr. Drew asked what they say to people who insist the girls are faking their symptoms.

“Live with the girls for just one week and you’ll see that they’re not faking,” Leubner said. “You can’t fake something like this. It’s way too much pain, and just the way that they twitch or the way that their outbursts are - it’s impossible to fake.

If what the teens are experiencing is, indeed, conversion disorder, should the community expect more cases? Dr. Drew asked psychiatrist Dr. John Sharp.

“If it’s a conversion cluster, Drew, we’d see an increase in cases to a point,” Dr. Sharp said. “We don’t exactly know what that is. It may have already passed, and then you start to see a decrease. It’s a very treatable condition. So in terms of treatment, conversion is not a bad answer to this question.”

Dr. Drew added, “and a reminder that if it’s a toxic insult to the brain, that’s a worse prognostic situation than conversion. “Conversion is not faking. It’s not malingering, which is a different disorder.”

Dr. Sharp also noted, “It’s not conscious. You just can’t say snap out of it. You’ve got to find a way to address an underlying problem.”

To follow every update in this developing story, don't miss "Dr. Drew" weeknights at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on HLN and follow on Twitter @DrDrewHLN.

A father of one of the teenage girls that's been affected by an illness that causing Tourette-like symptoms, took photos Tuesday of activity near a 1970 train derailment site in Le Roy, N.Y. Tuesday.

The father, who didn't want to be identified, reported the following:

“Another truck came in - Paragon Environmental Construction - They came in ... and they inspected the barrels, lifted some of the lids, went in the back to the other barrels back there that you can't see - kicked a few of them. Then another car came in, and then they started unloading coolers. I believe they unloaded over 15 coolers. They put them inside the construction trailer and then they packed up and left. The toxins are leaking out of the barrels. They're just open and nobody cares. This is it. This is why my daughter is sick. I know it is. What scares me is there is no cure.”

It was the first time Erin Brockovich associate and environmental investigator Bob Bowcock had seen the photos as they were shown on HLN’s Dr. Drew Tuesday night.

“It plays on what I talked about last night," he said. "Apparently somebody at EPA dropped the ball or EPA - the institution - dropped the ball in not physically supervising the site."

The Environmental Protection Agency released a statement earlier this week:

The EPA is aware of the parents and community's concerns and we are working closely with the school district and all of the involved state agencies to give them information related to the Lehigh Valley Derailment Superfund site about 4 miles from the school.

While EPA is gathering information about actions that took place at the Lehigh site before the site became a federal Superfund site, we do not believe pollution from either site is impacted the school. As we gather all of the facts, we will keep the community, our state partners and the school district up to date. In addition, there is another Superfund site about 10 miles east of the school that EPA also believes has no impact on the school.

On Tuesday the EPA added:

At this point, we are still gathering some information and don't have anything to add to what we said yesterday. The one new item is that we are sampling drums as a first step to moving them off the site. Once we have that data we will share it.

After viewing the photos in the video clip above, let us know what you think is being done in the comments section.

*Note – HLN cannot confirm that Paragon Environmental Construction is affiliated with the EPA.

To follow every update in this developing story, don't miss "Dr. Drew" weeknights at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on HLN and follow on Twitter @DrDrewHLN.

For the first time, an adult is coming forward, showing the same symptoms as a group of students in Upstate New York who are suffering from Tourette-like outbursts.

Marge Fitzsimmons, 36, says her tics began in October, around the same time as the teens. She was diagnosed with conversion disorder brought on by stress, and in her case, childhood trauma.

“My doctor said 'your stress level is here,'” she stated as she lifted her arm above her head. “So everything that you've ever suppressed erupted like a volcano.”

Some like the team led by Erin Brockovich think there could be an environmental link, like the 1970s train derailment that spilled the toxic industrial solvent TCE.

Fitzsimmons said the derailment site is close to a quarry and pond where she spent time as a teenager.

“We used to hang out in the quarry - used to do what teenagers do when you get a group together,” she said.

Fitzsimmons was asked by HLN correspondent Jim Spellman if she thought that site or any environmental factor may have contributed to her condition.

“At this point, I have to have faith in my doctors,” she said. “All the lab work and CAT scans and MRIs that I had done have come back within range - within the normal range limits. So, if it ends up being environmental, then does that mean that I don't have hope of getting better? These are thoughts that go through my head.”

Fitzsimmons continues to believe that conversion disorder is what's behind this, but keeps an open mind as the environmental investigation continues.

Spellman told Dr. Drew, “When we spoke of the possibility of there being an environmental cause - that's when her tic got worse. It is something that concerns her. She fears maybe there is a permanent change to her physiology somehow.”

Dr. Drew responded, “Conversion disorders get better. Toxic injuries to the brain do not. So from a prognostic standpoint, it might be better if this ends up being conversion, at least, for most of these kids and this woman particularly.”

To follow every update in this developing story, don't miss "Dr. Drew" weeknights at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on HLN and follow on Twitter @DrDrewHLN.