Replied By Megan (Freeport, Illinois) on 05/15/2012
Hi my name is Megan. And I have tourette syndrome to. What kind of tics does your son have? mine are vocal tics that sound like the hiccups, and I have learned gum helps mine too. Alot of sugar, nervousness, excitement make mine worse. I have learned silly putty, coloring, chewing gum, or spinning a beaded ring in between my fingers then it helps. The concentration!Replied By Susan (Hermon, Maine) on 05/06/2014
2 of my children have dealt with tourettes which they inherited from their dad. My youngest son can be very much dilating as of late. He has had his limbs out of control hitting himself, muscles becoming so sore from the spasms of tics. I was glad to read that someone else finds that gum chewing helps their child. We had used that in school for years. We had it put in his IEP. Unfortunately we removed him from his school this year and have taken on home school. Sadly not only kids/teenagers can be cruel but it is found within the adult realm as well. Isaac can be free to tic at home as much as he needs and not worry over the strain of suppressing. He is ready to go for his drivers test but at this moment his tics are so bad he wont even get behind the wheel for safety sake. I had forgotten about the gum chewing and will definitely be suggesting it to him tomorrow! I wonder if anyone has had an experience with a service dog? We have been contemplating this for him wondering if it would be a calming affect for him.