Educational Issues and Tourette Syndrome

Issues in education may have the most impact on somebody who has Tourettes than any other issues for that matter, considering a country like the Philippines, which has value so much for education. Creating an environment suitable for the needs of the person with TS can make the person grow and be the best they can be. Aside from that, the understanding that will eventually grow from that environment will be most healthy for their growth as well. This is very consequential because if educational issues are not addressed, they will be susceptible to maltreatment, harassment, poor social skills, academic underachievement and low self- esteem to name a few.

After diagnosis of the person, the parent may feel torn between letting the school know about the disorder and ignoring it and try to let the person be mainstreamed without any special notices. For the parent, it is imperative for you to let the school know about the disorder. While there may be so many information to tell and stigma everywhere things will change for the better in the long run as more and more people are becoming aware of it.

For one thing we might want to consider a healthy parent- teacher relationship. For a school that does inclusion of people with special needs, the parent will not have a hard time informing the school about their child who has TS. Commonly, they already have a program for those people. But for a school that is new to the whole matter of Tourette Syndrome, then everything would first come from the parents. It is often very helpful if teachers are told in advance what might be the expectations——— the problems that the child is facing. A one- on-one meeting with the teacher is almost always necessary. Although, they can relay the information from one teacher to another, it is better to have a sit- down meeting with them so they can fully understand what your child is going through. Remember, it is your child that we’re talking here so in order to make room for further growth and development we should first inform them of the real score behind your child’s condition. With the information that the teacher will be getting, this will serve as a basis on how the teacher can handle a child with TS—- like being more patient when the child gets to be a little naughty, explaining to other students what’s going on, understanding that a score on a test might be somewhat affected by the disorder that the child has and so on and so forth. The teacher can also help in monitoring the child in terms of peer relationships, attitude towards work and his environment, the child’s conduct and basically the child’s progress. As a parent, it is consequential to ask the teacher what the progress are and be able to evaluate what else needs to be done. For the sake of the child, always be constructive and avoid arguments and keep lines of communication always open. We must remember that no two persons deal with the situation the same way.

What are actually the information that teachers need to know? First of all, inform them the symptoms of Tourette especially the nature of tics. This will help them understand that the child are not doing this to get attention or just to simply annoy the teacher, it is central to emphasize that the child cannot control his behavior and most of the time needs medication to lessen the occurrence of tics. Sometimes, if teachers are not knowledgeable they get to be annoyed or even offended by the tics. There can be possibilities that the child will be reprimanded for doing so. Make the teacher aware that the tics can usually occur mostly when the child is under stress. Having a quiz, recitations in front of the class, board games etc. can be very stressful to the child. These experiences may cause the child to exhibit more pronounced tics. Making the child a center of attention is not going to help at all. The teacher should always talk to the child privately and ask him what could be the most comfortable thing for him to do and if there’s anything the teacher can do to lessen his stress. And as what I’ve said before, it is often helpful to let the other students be aware of Tourette Syndrome. A small class presentation may be done.

Taking into account the co-morbid disorders that are associated with TS can also be helpful if informed. In this way, the teacher will be able to compliment his style of teaching to a child with TS. Individualization is very important. Taking for example a hyperactive child needs more clear and simple classroom rules that most students. Another would be allowing the child to have extra time to complete his work. No matter what the style is the most important thing is careful and consistent provisions of these rules and should be individualized to suit a child with TS. There also has to be continuous support. The child has to be motivated. Careful modifications should also be done. And eventually evaluation for the purpose of finding out effective techniques useful for the child and later on changing and replacing the ones not effective at all.

Original article posted on March 10, 2007
Last Update: June, 2007