Noelle

Hi Claire, I posted as newly diagnosed a while back when I had just seen a neurologist who confirmed a diagnosis of Tourette's. Let me tell you our story and then maybe you can add my son to the list. My son started to do a vocal tic in late Feb 2004. Interestingly, he was 7 and had been given a playstation for Christmas. At the same time I had a new baby and so he was watching a lot more t.v. than usual. Also, he had been given the Star Wars bounty hunter game for playstation, but because it was "Star Wars" I got overuled when I complained that it was too much for him. When the vocal tics started to become more and more I took action and took the game away for good, greatly reduced t.v. time and started bringing him home for lunch to ensure he was getting proper nutrition. He still got to play playstation but much less and very tame games such as pac-man and atv offroad. His tic went away for good within a few weeks and I was relieved to think that maybe it was just a transient tic. Then at Christmas time again he got another Star Wars game for playstation which was similar to the other in that it was a combat game with lot's of light saber activity and one for gameboy. No one believed me about the game, t.v. and tic connection and so it was allowed. At the same time, we drove to Disneyland and a lot of time was spent in the car playing gameboy, and watching movies on the dvd player. Low and behold the tics came back even worse than ever(vocal and motor). So with mom being the big meanie, the Star wars game was taken away and again, I limited t.v., other playstation games and gameboy now(it had never bothered him before) and tried to make sure he was getting plenty of sleep and proper nutrition. Eventually by early March he was tic free but it took much longer. Then in May 2005, they began again. They were so bad that it was then that I decided I needed to seek medical attention. He had seen the last Star Wars episode in the theatre ironically. I went to the internet and it was then that I discovered your threads about the t.v., computer, gameboy connection-but still no one would believe me about this connection. I convinced my husband that we must take playstation away all together. My son then turned to his gameboy to replace it and at the same time his tics worsened. I brought him home for lunch again for proper nutrition and did everything to replace "electronic" time with outdoor activity. It took much longer but by mid-July he was tic fee again but the diagnosis lingered because of the frequent episodes of tics within the 1 year time frame. When we went to the pediatrician for a follow-up in Nov. we boasted that he had had no tics and he was doing great-I kept the "electronic" connection to myself because it had been so poorly received in the past. However, he did finally have his first appt. with a neurologist in early Dec. I don't know if it was the Halloween candy's cummulative effect, his staying for lunch-he's not the best eater, or the fact that he was spending more time inside due to the weather or just simply the natue of Tourette's but the tics returned. When I spoke to the neurologist about the t.v. playstation connection he said right in front of my son that there is no connection, and frankly I am a gamer and would be upset if I had to stop playing. Well, son was elated and said see mom. So, I said what about the stress and excitement that is caused by playing these games which is a known trigger and he said well ya-I guess so. So, I went back and printed your threads and made my husband read them. My son had been feeling left out because his friends have game systems so we allowed him to have game cube with very mild games and no gameboy. Over Christmas, his tics became worse once again. At present, he is still ticking but again they are gradually decreasing as I limit his junk food, promote rest and reduce his "electronic" activities. I am waiting for the day that further research makes the connection and will then validate the effects of too much t.v., computer and video games on children's developing neurological systems. Until then I will continue to do my best to limit it with my children and replace the time spent doing more valuable things such as outdoor activities. It is so difficult though because so many children are allowed unlimited access in this day and age. Finally, as we are still very new at this and early into our son's journey with Tourette Syndrome, I continue to look for clues such as diet and allergies but I can tell you that so far limiting his electronic activity has been the only thing that I have been able to manipulate and see a great reduction in ticcing. Therefore, I believe in the connection 100%. Thank-you so much for making this connection and writing about it! Sincerely, Noelle

Hi, all My son is 9years old and was just diagnosed with Tourette's. I have never had to deal with any illness in my family either physical or mental. I feel clueless and don't know where to even begin to try and help him with this. He is very shy and doesn't express his feelings well and I feel like if I make a big deal out of it-ie. by informing his school, he will hate me but at the same time I don't want him to suffer if we ignore this. I am trying to come to terms with this and will do anything I can for him. His tics are not as severe as they were last spring but they are with him everyday. He also has behaviors which suggest that he may have adhd/ocd/od which we have always stuggled with. What makes this even more difficult is that my youngest son just turned two and started eye-blinking the night before his birthday. I have begun to identify triggers for my older son who is hypersensitive and I suspect may have environmental and food allergies. I haven't been able to access anymore information than what is on the internet and would like to buy some books. I desperately want to help my son and or sons to keep their self-esteem intact. What is the best approach? Sincerely, Noelle