** What could my 11-year-old have??? Tourette's?????.....**

Posted By  CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS on March 25, 1999 at 08:32:21:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: ** What could my 11-year-old have??? Tourette's?????.....** posted by John on March 24, 1999 at 18:43:57:

: Annie:
  My 10 year old son also has Tourette's and has had it for the past 4
  years.  He has a lot of head shaking, facial expressions, touching his chin
  to his shoulder, etc.  Over the years he has had a lot of different things
  that come and go, some come back, some seem to be gone forever.  The most
  important thing we have learned is that patience and tolerance are the
  most critical things to have as parents.  We have been out to dinner or
  with friends and the motions come up you feel like yelling at the top of
  your lungs but he has no control over it so we sit back and relax as best we
  can.  We are not to the point of medication and we keep a positive attitude
  that everything will clear up as he gets older.  You might try contacting
  the Tourettes Association, they have a lot of great literature and will
  suggest health professionals in your area.  I left my e-mail address if I
  can be of any help.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD RPS]

_

Dear John:
Thanks for the spiritual help for Annie and her son.  We usually medicate because the person with the Tourettes has an emotional tie to the tic behavior and feels embarassed.  Since children can be very cruel to other children who are different we allow our young patients to make the choice whether or not to try medication.  The tics are usually not harmful and whether to medicate or not is dependent on the individual's request.  Thanks for allowing Annie to see that medication is not always required.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro[P] MD