It was nearing Halloween, and normally this is a very exciting and fun time of year, but not for Thumper. All of the sudden he was very stressed. He began coming home from school worried and upset because some kid had asked him why he was making those gulping and swallowing noises and if he could stop doing that.
Now, we had been going to these Tourette's meetings, and he was becoming a little more open about his Tourette's, so we've been telling him that he can just tell the kids he has it, but I don't think it is so easy for him. I asked him what he said to the boy and Thumper said he didn't say anything. He said he was too scared to say anything and that the boy seemed really annoyed and mad at him because of all the noise Thumper was making during quiet work time.
Thumper told me it was hard at school because his throat tics were really bad sometimes and everyone could hear him during group time where they all sit close to each other. He said he didn't want to tell his classmates that he had TS. He just felt bad.
One thing that annoyed me to death, was the way their classroom was set up. Now, I've seen a lot of different classroom desk arrangements, but the way it was set up in Thumper's classroom was a little odd, and something that is a nightmare to anyone with Tourette's. The desks were in 2 long rows, but with each row consisting of 10 desks all facing each other and touching on all sides. So if this makes sense, Thumper had to sit in the middle of a row of desks but with a desk in front of him with another student facing right at him, and then desks touching his desk on all sides. So basically, 5 other students desks touched his desk and 5 other students are all right within a foot and 1/2 space of him. How awful to have to have some kid staring directly at you the entire class time, but with Tourette's, there is no where to hide.
I sent an email to the teacher explaining the situation and how Thumper felt uncomfortable. I asked her if she could change the seating arrangement so the desks didn't all have to be touching each other and facing each other, but I don't think she quite understood. Later that week, Thumper told me they had rearranged the seating, but it wasn't like I had hoped. Instead of changing the desks or moving them apart from each other, the teacher had moved Thumper to the far back one of the rows where his desk was next to 2 special needs students who weren't there very often, and another student who missed a lot of school. So, now he was just isolated in the back of the classroom like some sort of outcast. OK, so I'm exaggerating a little bit, but it just didn't seem right. Now don't get me wrong here, Thumper had a very nice, caring, and respectful teacher, but I think Tourette's was new to her, and she was trying to make things easier for Thumper. It just wasn't what I expected.
So, maybe this had helped Thumper not have to be so close to the other kids during quiet work times when he was ticking a lot, but it still bugged me a little bit thinking how he was all alone in the back. It was a matter of visualization. When I actually went in the classroom, he wasn't so isolated as I had pictured.
Another interesting thing was happening at school. Thumper started coming home telling me that some other kids had Tourette's too. I asked him about this, and he told me how there were other kids he played with or in his class who kept clearing their throat and gulping all the time now when they were by him. Hmmm....this made me wonder. It sounded more like these kids were copying Thumper. At least he didn't pick up on it, but he still was feeling bad in class.
Thumper would come home from school and tell me that another kid asked him if he could "stop doing that" or why did he keep "making those sounds". Thumper told me he felt bad and he just tried harder and harder to not make those sounds, but it was really hard and it hurt him. And, from what we have learned, trying to suppress tics usually just makes them worse.
Poor kid. What was this doing for him? I think this is where people don't understand Tourette's. It's not just the tics and that they are bothersome or annoying to others. It's also all the distractions and loss of focus or concentration that comes from doing them. How difficult it must be for a child to try to concentrate or work in a classroom setting when they also have tics happening, and now they also have to worry about trying to not tic so much as to not bother the other students?
Things were getting worse for Thumper and he was not happy at school. He was coming home ticking worse than ever and his stress level was very high. Again he was crying and freaking out at night as his tics were so bad. We didn't know what to do. We had tried all these therapists and psychologists and psychiatrists, support groups and more. We still didn't know what we were supposed to be doing to help Thumper. We knew one thing though. We knew we had to do something more to help him at school so he wouldn't feel so embarrassed and ashamed. I began emailing the school psychologist, principal, and Thumper's teacher to see if we could come up with some ideas to help Thumper at school.
