REBECCA Atkinson looks and sounds like any other outgoing bubbly teenager.

With six GCSEs under her belt and working hard towards an A-level in English literature, she hopes one day to be either a teacher or a photographer.

But Rebecca, from Tanton, near Stokesley, has myalgic encephalopathy, or ME - a condition which has put her life on hold for the past seven years and robbed her of normal teenage activities.

Far worse than that, she says, is the constant struggle to make people believe how debilitating the condition is.

The condition, officially recognised by the Chief Medical Officer in 1998, baffles even the most eminent medical scientists. It is so puzzling, that many cannot even agree on giving it the same name.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome and post viral fatigue syndrome are all used to describe the condition which can last anywhere from four years to a lifetime.

It is estimated that about 24,000 children, some as young as five, have ME in the UK, with wide-ranging symptoms from mild muscle pain, concentration difficulties and exhaustion to being unable to either speak or move.

Typical symptoms include muscle pain, extreme exhaustion and fatigue brought on by small activities, sensitivity to light and noise, severe headaches, stomach and digestive problems, disturbed sleep patterns, forgetfulness and muddled thinking, and mood swings.

Rebecca, who celebrated her 18th birthday three months ago, has experienced them all since she was 11 years old.

"I remember becoming ill very suddenly with influenza," she said. "But instead of it going after a fortnight, I was very ill for about six or seven weeks. I spent most of the time in bed, ate very little, had a headache, nausea and felt very weak.

"I felt a little better and played in the garden one day, but I got a splitting headache and had to be carried to bed. I guess that was the end of the flu and the start of ME."

Tests for glandular fever tested negative, and she was sent to hospital for further investigations but the only thing that showed up was that she had recently had influenza B.

However, Rebecca's mother, Suzanne, who works part-time at Stokesley school, had an inkling of what was wrong.

She said: "I had read something in the D&S Times about a woman in Carlton who had ME and my mum, who worked at the school, knew of a boy there who had it.

"You just know your own children. It was just a feeling I had, but the doctors all disagreed. It was not until four years later that one mentioned it could well be ME."

Years of struggling to cope with the symptoms and battling for recognition of the condition has left Rebecca and her family with a deep mistrust of doctors and the education system.

"You learn to cope with the way you feel, but nothing prepares you for the scepticism of those around you," Rebecca said. "My trust in doctors now is practically zero because of their attitude towards my illness and refusal to believe how ill I feel.

"Teachers, too, found it hard to believe that I could look normal and yet be so ill. That's the problem you see. You look normal on the outside but inside you feel so desperately ill."

Having a label to pin the symptoms on to was important to the whole family.

"At least now we know what is wrong with me", Rebecca added. "Somehow knowing makes it easier to face, though if I had known I would still be feeling like this seven years on I would likely have done away with myself."

Rebecca can still walk only about 400yds without having to take a rest. Even with a wheelchair, she can be out only for about an hour without feeling completely exhausted, making family days out with her father, Howard, ten-year-old brother, Nathan, and 15-year-old sister, Laura, virtually impossible.

Even shopping presents major problems especially if there is no car park nearby.

Rebecca, who also suffers from depression and irritable bowel syndrome as a result of the condition, wants everyone to understand the limitations ME imposes on young people.

She said: "The hardest part about living with ME is the medical and education authorities and friends who won't listen or understand you.

No young person would choose to live like this, so why don't they believe us."

The Association of Young People with ME offers support to youngsters aged five-25 and their families. It can be contacted on 01908 373300 or by e-mail Pr