Children with Tourettes Syndrome

Raising a Son with Tourettes

Debbie Weitzman-Ward is mom to 3 boys, Logan,17, Houston,15 and Cole,7. When Houston was about 9 years old, she would get reports from his teachers that he was being disruptive and displaying odd behaviors in class. Eventually, after neuro-psych counseling, Debbie learned her son had Tourette's Syndrome. Though the initial news of his disease felt hard to bare, Debbie found a way to understand and sympathize with her son's behavior-- something she knows is out of his control and without the proper support, could be damaging to his self esteem.

This is Debbie's story...

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Showing the Latest of 5 Comments

leslie.oakes
1 years ago

Wow! Thanks for sharing! My son Logan is 10 and was just diagnosed with TS a few weeks ago. His main tic at the moment is lip licking and wiping. Right now, he has sore, red chapped skin around his entire mouth and down to his chin where he wipes it. It's heartbreaking to me to see his beautiful face like that and I am actually worried about scars. We aren't starting him on any meds at this point but there is a doctor in portland who specializes in habit reversal therapy and we are very excited about that. Once again, thanks for sharing!!

MEL
1 years ago

Thanks for sharing your story. I agree that self-esteem is so important in kids with Tourette. Thankfully the stigma is wearing off, and people are becoming more educated about TS. Continue doing the great job that you are with your son--he seems like a terrific kid! My 19-year-old son who has TS is working toward going to the 2016 Olympics--no limits!

TaylorJP
1 years ago

Thank you for sharing! I was diagnosed with TS at 19 and am grateful for the diagnosis, but it's definitely hard. My mother I think is having more trouble than me? Also, Houston seems like an awesome dude. xD

lori.madison
1 years ago

Thank you so much for sharing your family's story. My son, Jake, was diagnosed with TS 2 years ago at the age of 6. It's so helpful and comforting to hear others' stories - kinda takes the isolation out of it all. Thank you again, Lori

Loreni
2 yearss ago

Thank you for sharing Debbie. My son has Down syndrome and it can be so hard at times to deal with the challenges, but when I really think about it, "in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad"! We have a great life and he's an incredibly happy baby. Things could be much worse. Your story is very inspiring, thank you for sharing!

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