A Tic At A Time

... alone plays a child who keeps blinking his eyes and bending his wrists, all of which affect the game he so desperately wants to play with the other kids who just are not there. Do you see a lonely child waiting on his friends or do you see a child with Tourette's Syndrome???

The very first thought that shoots through my head is... Does he see the very best pediatric neurologist? Do his parents even know whats going on with their child?The first action I took was the eye doctor. My son blinks his eyes a lot because he simply can't see. Which it did turn out that he did have irritation on the inner eye. Gave him RX drops and all was fixed.

Though with the weeks to follow, the drops didn't "fix" him. So onto the next doctor, his family doctor. He agreed that Logan was for sure experiencing what  typical Tourette children go through. The visits don't end there.  He said Logan needs a neurologist, a pediatric neurologist, not a neuro that will see a child.  So the quest for the best set sail.

All of which falls under the question:

Are you aware of Tourette's Syndrome???

Tourette's Syndrome (TS- let's be honest; it's so much quicker to type!) The following facts are from Neuroscience for Kids:

* Basic cause of TS is unknown, but it's probably caused in the part by an abnormal gene that alters how the brain uses the neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. A neurotransmitter is a chemical that carries a signal from one nerve cell to another.  

* First symptoms are facial tics such as eye blinks.

* The symptoms generally decline in severity after puberty. In 20-30% of cases symptoms disappear entirely as a person ages into their 20's.

* TS does not affect ones IQ

* Motor tics can be classified as simple or complex. Simple are abrupt, brief movements that occur in a single and isolated fashion, basically there are no other tics experienced at the same time. Complex are a series of movements. Both simple and complex tics are involuntary. They both come across as disruptive and purposeful. Then come the verbal tics. Misconstrued that verbal tics are yelling obscene words, they can vary in sniffing, throat clearing and grunting. About 15% of people with TS yell obscene words, this is called Coprolalia.

A Tic At A Time was created for many reasons that came before the name of the site. Being a single mom of a child with TS, I desperately wanted to connect with other moms, as well as dads, as we share the same questions, 'Why memy child?' A lifetime of added fears.  I wanted to know ' Am I the only one who can't sleep at night? Do I feed into his tics?'  AM I MAKING THIS UP, DOES MY FOUR YEAR OLD REALLY HAVE TOURETTE'S, OCD, AND ADHD???

The support groups I found online were just too far and in heavily populated towns. I will always see Yorkville as a small country town. With the statistics that 1 in 100 has TS there are families close to me that walk the same path, I will not be alone. I met the Larson Family and knew right away I will have the support I crave but also desperately need. I will not let another family feel as if they are alone in the world of the unknown.

Bill at 27 has Tourette's, OCD and AdHd. Having him in my life gives me the comfort knowing that Logan will have the love from the both of us but the knowledge Bill will give Logan is more than just an ease on my fragile, worried heart. A Tic At A Time... These 5 words get me through rough patches I must face daily. These 5 words can change the world, the world that Tourette's inhabits.

www.aticatatime.com video made for aticatatime.com and created by webmaster (and fellow Patch blogger) Jen Slepicka at www.peeka.info