TV/Gameboy/Playstation/Computer

[Guest Diane]

I just wanted to add my experiences with TV/Gameboy/Playstation/Computer, as an addition to Claire's previous thread on this subject.

 

My husband has TS so we knew our sons were susceptible, but my youngest son's eye-blinking tics really exploded when he started playing the GameBoy consistently for the first time six years ago. He gets passionately addicted to things, like my husband, and was playing all the time. I was convinced this was the culprit of his tics and for the next two months, really worked on him to cut this down. It definitely helped greatly, but this tic was so entrenched it lasted almost two years, although it was minimal if he played minimally. He then lost interest completely in Game Boy and his eye tic has disappeared. For three years now! However, if he plays an excitable computer or Playstation game, I can see him rubbing his eyes as if he is trying to prevent a blink, and I know that the tic is almost there again, so I push him to cut back.

 

This is not easy, with my children being 12 and 14, and it is one thing they love to to. It is a daily struggle between myself and them, because they get obsessive about their hobbies, as many TS people do. It is exhausting having to moniter them daily about this, imposing daily time limits, or taking it away altogether, but I feel it's my role right now. I hope with maturity they will do this on their own. My older son is showing signs of this.

 

I also, for years have not permitted them to watch violent TV shows or movies of any kind. I know when my husband watches them, he would tic like crazy. They are used to this now and only watch the funny stuff, or informative (like Discovery Channel). This, I firmly believe, has assisted in keeping their tics to a minimum. It also contributes greatly to them having a happy and relaxed frame of mind and not being bad-tempered (again, helping tics).

 

This has been my personal experience and I hope, helpful to others.

[Claire]

Hi Diane,

 

Thanks. Boy that Gameboy is so prevalent. That's why I think it is the motion as well as the CRT screen--Gameboys have LCD screens now--though I don't know if they used to. I know that with photosensitive epilepsy they discuss not just flicker but graphics and their movement, and I am convinced it is the same trigger.

 

I wonder so often about that addictiveness--I don't think it is just our kids that latch on so much (though I think they do...thus for young kids I would avoid it totally because I think it is easier to do no video games than to restrict the time--with older kids it is a tougher balance) ...look at this statistic I just found today--it carries over to adulthood. This is a real bummer to me.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/fun.games/10/...s.ap/index.html

TV viewership among men aged 18 to 34 declined by about 12 percent last year while that group spent 20 percent more time on games, according to Nielsen Media Research.

 

Video games now attract not just hard-core gamers, but people of all ages and more women than ever. In the United States, overall sales reached $10.7 billion last year -- more than movie box-office receipts -- and is expected to reach nearly $16.9 billion in 2008, according to market research firm DFC Intelligence.

 

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Good to keep in mind about violent movies. They are very stimulating and graphical. My son never had that reaction to a book.

 

Claire