Research Paper

[Guest Jake]

I'm sorry to bother you about this, but I'm doing a research paper (which is due on Wed.) on Tourette's Syndrome, and I was told that I have to have, "at least one interview with a doctor, an expert, professional, or individual/family member with disorder." This is the first forum site where people are actually active, and know what it is they're talking about, so I'll ask.

What's it like living with someone that has tourette's syndrome? I hear that mental diseases can develop from trying to deal with the tics, as they're called. But what about you? Doesn't it get stressful having to deal with this every day of your life? And what about the siblings of the children with TS? If they have a new friend over, do they explain what TS is to each of them, do they ignore it, or do they try to avoid the child with TS?

I hope these questions don't offend any of you. If they do, feel free to yell at me, as you have a much greater idea as to what this is like than I do. After all, I don't even know what it's like to have children of my own (because i'm only 15... ).

Thanks in advance,

Jake

[Chemar]

Hi Jake

 

I have a 14 year old son who has TS

 

He was diagnosed at 10, which is when his tics first became noticeable as such.

 

Yes, it was very hard to deal with at first....because the change was so very dramatic. i am not exagerating when I say that my son woke up one morning just after his 10th birthday and was "different" from the day before.

But, as we learned about TS, we understood more and so learned how to cope.

 

First off, TS is NOT a disease....it is a neurological disorder. BIG difference!

 

Also, my son and our family have found it best to be very upfront about TS...that way people understand and are more tolerant.

 

The acceptance of TS and all that goes with it is also very beneficial in preventing those "other" psycological issues that can occur when people are misunderstood and picked on for the tics that they cannot help.

That is why my family tries to educate people about it, so that they will be more understanding.

 

My son's friend's hardly notice his tics anymore...they are just part of him.

And our older son tells his friends upfront, and they too understand and are really very nice to his brother.

 

They most certainly dont "ignore" the one with TS....Many people with TS are VERY talented, especially in music and acting and humor....my son is all of these, and so my older son's friends really like him, and "jam" with him (my kids play a lot of musical instruments) and everyone is amazed at the son with TS having master-gamer abilities...he is also a computer whiz.

 

For me as a mom....yes, it is sometimes hard to see or hear him tic and notice ignorant people snigger or make fun of him. But I have learned to try to ignore that.

A parent never wants to see their child go thru hard stuff and so , yes, I wish he did not have to deal with TS, but, I also know that learning to live with it has made him strong and very compassionate toward anyone who is "different"

 

Ever since we learned about the effect of healthy diet and special vitamins etc to help with tics (instead of the medicines that have pretty nasty side effects) my son's ability to live a very happy life even with TS has grown.

 

There is also the very hopeful statistic that most people's tics get less and less as they grow.

 

I hope that your own research into TS will help you in understanding more about it, and that you will also help to educate others thru what you write in your paper.

 

Bye now and i hope you get a good grade for it

[Guest Jake]

I knew it wasn't a disease, it's just a habbit to call it that. It also didn't help that i was multi-tasking whilst writing the questions. Thanks a lot for the info! It really helped a bunch!

But is there a sketchy timeframe that lets you know when your child's TS will almost cease to exist? I know sometimes it goes on forever, and other's it lasts a short while, but as far as I've read, no one knows wheather it will stay, or go. I didn't read anything that said that it could appear almost overnight. That's just astounding. If that happened in my family, i can imagine it to be chaotic (unless I had it... they wouldn't beleive me. I'm one of the odd kids who is always joking around). That'd be hard... You're a strong person getting through that.

Thanks for the quick response, and the great information!

Jake