The day I found out my son had Tourette Syndrome

My son has Tourette’s. I will be completely honest; when I found out, I was upset; not devastated.  Like most children with Tourette syndrome, he was not born with this.  In fact, it developed around the tender age of 6.  He was smart, funny, lovable, and cute!!  He is my son.  He wanted to be a doctor!!  He is still all of these things and still wants to become a doctor.

Then one day, he started having vocal tics.  It sort of sounded like a squeal. Then it progressed to shoulder shrugging.  I felt so bad!  I reprimanded him because I thought he was telling me, “So; I don’t care.”  If you ever give your children instruction and they shrug their shoulders because they don’t believe you or don’t care to do what you asked, you may see this.  For my son, he was not being disrespectful. He could not help it.  He was sitting on the couch, happy and watching football and shrugging his shoulders.

For me, it was something else he had to go through as if being a brown male wasn’t enough.  Now he had Tourette’s. Let’s be real.  It is hard enough he could be discriminated against due to the beautiful color of skin, but to add a disability was even more alarming. I was determined to find a cure.  I started taking him to a top Neurologist, paying for massages and natural care.  It helped, but there really is not a cure.  I was told most boys develop this between the age of five and six and will usually outgrow it (or it is suppressed). However, there was not anything that would just cure it.  I was told the best surgeons have a tic.  I was told people rub their finger, twirl their hair, just to name a few.  All of this started to ease my mind. BUT…. MY son was getting worse; it was not going away.

I found myself defending him if someone said something. I found myself thinking adults were dumb.  “How can you not tell that is a tic?  Stop asking him if he is okay! That only causes attention to it.”

Then I decided my child was just like your child!  He is a kid that has friends, excels in school and enjoys doing the same things your children enjoy doing.  In fact, he articulates himself and writes very well. Keep in mind, he is eleven now. He plays chess and the guitar just to name a few.  He reads music and loves to computer code.  He loves video games.  He loves to play outside and loves to play with wrestlers. He loves sleepovers and traveling.  He can swim and he has parents that love him and support him. He does all the things other children do and he does it well.

Children with Tourette syndrome have an urge. It is like an itch that must be scratched. Many lose concentration, are restless and may have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies or impulse control.  They cannot help it.  We cannot just tell them to stop.  I learned his tics were agitated by allergies, being tired, grief, stress or nervousness. Learning the triggers helped tremendously. The fact that there is a wealth of information online also helped.  Also, my son’s Tourette syndrome can come and go and because of this many people may forget he has it.

I had to fix my attitude. No, it was not bad, but I needed to remind myself, there was nothing wrong with my child.  It is okay for him to not be perfect! We all want our children to be perfect.  Repeat after me, “It is okay if they are not perfect!” In fact, many of us have a subtle tic, we just don’t notice it; however, others may.  Guess what?  It is okay!  He is not perfect and neither are we. He is my beautiful brown child and he is perfect for me.

If I as his mother feel that it may bother him or be more noticeable in school, he will take his medicine.  I am not a fan of my child being on constant medication. Yes, I said that.  If he doesn’t tic, we come off of it during the summer months (under doctor’s discretion). We believe in massage and chiropractic therapy and even essential oils.  I am not advocating either way, but this works best for us! I treat him like any other child.  It is Tourette syndrome.  It is not contagious.  You cannot catch it.  He is a great friend.  He stands up to and for his friends and he lives with this.  Hopefully one day he will outgrow it but until he does, he is my son and I am his mother.  He is WONDERFUL!  He is AMAZING!  He has Tourette syndrome and that is okay!!!

Photo Credit- Jamaal Mayes

Author: raisinglittlebrownchildren

I am an educator, motivator, and public speaker. Most importantly, I am a mother who is passionate about providing security, exposure and opportunities for our youth. While although being part of a multi-racial family, one thing for sure is raising a brown child is different. No matter how you were raised, without a prejudice or judgmental bone in your body, the fears and stereotypes are different for brown children than any other race. My passion for equality and exposure has thrived as a result of this. I have made it my personal goal to expose our youth, share and provide opportunities for children that otherwise may not have particular opportunities. View all posts by raisinglittlebrownchildren