Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Syndrome

“A Collaborative Approach Focused on Empowering Students, Families, and Teachers”

            A Third grade teacher tells us how she had two students, Evan and TJ who both had Tourette syndrome, along with other students that all had learning disabilities of some sort. The teacher went on to tell how Evan and TJ’s vocal tics and motor tics weren’t always alike. When the teacher would think she figured each of them out then there tics and behaviors would change. The teacher would keep in contact with the parents to compare the changes to keep it easier for the parents when doctoring with their diagnoses. Evan and TJ would have vocal tics as far as blurting out competitive words or phrases. They would also continuously cough and clear their throats. Neither of the two boys would have the same tic at the same time. They would also have motor tics as far as blinking the eyes, cracking the knuckles, sniffing and shrugging the shoulders. There are a lot more different vocal and motor ticks again not the same all of the time. There are a lot of adjustments the teacher has to do to make each one of them feel comfortable; they might have to go into a room by themselves to take a test. The tics come out more if in anxious situation. Most of the time children do not show signs of having ticks till the age of 6-7. The teacher and the mother are in contact a lot to be sure they are on the same page with the boy’s education so they get what they deserve. A lot of time outsiders that don’t know signs and symptoms of Tourette syndrome so when they see a child acting out they blame the parents for spoiling them or treating them like babies. A lot of time a child with Tourette syndrome has some sort of other learning defects. When the child has a doctor’s appointment the have to decide what to treat first but then they have to watch because and then they have to watch because some medications will bring tics out. The parents know the child the best. The family involvement in the education of a child makes a difference in there child’s school education.

            This article was very helpful with the information on Tourette syndrome. It gave a lot of good examples of what tics were and the different kinds of motor and vocal tics there are. I have a daughter who has Tourette syndrome and a lot of the information in this article is exactly what my family went through. She also had just about all the motor tics that were listed and some of the vocal tics. She also had other learning disabilities, like ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and was diagnosed with bi-polar. We also did have to keep in contact with her teachers throughout her school year. I really enjoyed reading this article. It was very interesting to me.