Child With Tourette's

I haven't talked much about my son who has Tourette's. Unlike the movie, Rain Man, his tics do not emanate from the mouth (except he does talk negatively and angrily to himself such as I suck, I'm a loser, I hate my life). Depression is a real factor.

Rather, his tics involve his body. I told you that, as a baby, he was a head banger in the crib. As a toddler, he banged his head against the seat of the car or against the wall if he was sitting on the floor. During those early years, his eyes became part of the sequence. They would roll back, in unision. It was very unnerving.

First grade bought about a new addition. The tics would start with the head and eyes but would then include the whole shoulder dipping with the head and started to include the hip. It was pretty scary to watch. His teacher and I were afraid he was going to have a blown out seizure.

It was hard trying to evaluate this without disturbing my son who was already painfully aware of how distracting he was. Combine that with the fact that he is really shy.

He started taking Risperdal and has been taking it for over six years. This past year (7th grade), we had to increase the dosage for the umpteenth time to help assuage the tics which were aggravated by he teasing he received in the school setting. He was called "Tic Boy" and other unsavory terms and asked constantly what was wrong with him.

Gentle reader, the worst part of the ill behavior wasn't the reaction of his fellow students but the reaction of some of his overworked and overwhelmed teachers.

More on that in tomorrow's blog. Take care of yourself out there - it's a wild world.