Key Facts for Teachers -Action Tourettes
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Neither rewards nor punishment will enable a student to control tics. However, there may be things which make Resources Tourette Syndrome it easier for tics to be minimised and this can usually be Tourettes Action can provide information and discovered in discussion with the student and their family. PowerPoint presentations for schools. It may be possible for us to offer some whole school training. KEY FACTS FOR Try not to respond too much to tics as this can normalise them. However, often tics are humorous and it would be Please note that this leaflet is designed to offer unnatural not to recognise this. support to teachers in classroom settings and explain TEACHERS how Tourette Syndrome affects students. TS is not caused by bad parenting or abuse. When children are able to suppress their tics at school this may well lead It does not cover the legal requirements surrounding to increased tics and behaviours at home. It does not the implementation of the disabilities discrimination act, mean that school is OK and something is wrong at home. the new code of practice or obtaining an EHC plan. Home is a safe place to let all your tics out. However, this does mean that often homework is especially hard. It may be helpful to provide time and space for tics to be let out in private, thus lessening the build-up of tension. Perhaps a ‘time out’ card would allow the Contact us student to go to the designated place without causing too much disruption if it becomes unbearable for them. Call our Helpdesk to speak to us between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday on 0300 777 8427 Try to avoid seating arrangements where tics will cause the greatest disruption, for example the middle of rows or near something breakable. Sometimes sitting at the front of the E-mail us at [email protected] class can improve attention but at other times it makes the tics visible to everyone and so should be avoided. Write to us at our registered office: Modify tasks or requirement where possible as some activities are much harder for students with TS. Tourettes Action Especially handwriting and other activities requiring fine The Meads Business Centre motor skills. Distribute instructions rather than asking 19 Kingsmead students to copy long instructions or homework. Farnborough Hampshire Tics may make handwriting difficult so try not to mark GU14 7SR the student down for poor handwriting. Exams are stressful for all students and especially so for a We are a registered charity, no. 1003317. We are also a child with TS. Consider special access arrangements such company registered in England and Wales, no. 2613993. as separate rooms or allowing rest breaks for exams. Tourette Syndrome (UK) Association, As TS often worsens at the age of transition trading as Tourettes Action. this can be especially difficult and may well require extra planning and support. www.tourettes-action.org.uk www.tourettes-action.org.uk www.tourettes-action.org.uk A guide to understanding Tourette Syndrome in a classroom setting Common vocal tics are: coughing, grunting, sniffing, throat Thought tics or ‘internal voices’ can also inhibit auditory clearing, shrieking, whistling, spitting, animal sounds processing. Because TS can be suggestible, classmates having and echolalia (repeating others’ words or phrases). discovered ‘the trigger’ may use this to make the student with TS tic. Only 10% of people with TS have the swearing tic, coprolalia, but many people have tics like words, There are many other activities which the relentless sentences and gestures that are at risk of offending presence of TS may affect: communication, planning, others. This is known as NOSI (non-obscene, socially time management, organisation and initiating tasks. inappropriate behaviour) and is perhaps one of the more difficult behaviours in the classroom setting. All of these can lead to other emotions which can lead to difficulties, both in the classroom and in the school population It can be hard to believe that a child’s tics that appear to in general: low self-esteem, poor relationships with peers and be personally directed at the teacher or other students adults, depression, fatigue and social isolation. Perhaps the are indeed just tics and not at all what the child is most complex and difficult to manage is anger and rage. What is thinking or believes. Usually they are as embarrassed Tourette and upset as the other person – if not more so. Syndrome? 80% of students with TS will have additional conditions: Strategies for teachers ADHD, Autistic Spectrum Conditions and OCD. They may Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological condition. also suffer from low self-esteem and have behavioural Firstly it is helpful for everyone interacting with the child It affects one schoolchild in every hundred; although issues such as rage attacks. This means that they may to have a working knowledge of TS. Whole school and as TS is a spectrum condition, some children are have a poor attention span, fail to complete tasks, be peer awareness activities can be very helpful in reducing either not aware of it or have symptoms which are so easily distracted, unable to listen, fidgety and impulsive. anxiety, and helping to form a supportive network. mild that they do not require any intervention. However, TS is not an indicator of low IQ and, given the right support and encouragement, students can Pair students with supportive and understanding ‘buddies’. More than 300,000 children and adults in the UK have TS reach their full potential. to a level at which it has a significant impact on their lives. Have effective and clear communication between home Medical symptoms are extreme and the social, educational and school, bearing in mind that tic severity will vary between and economic effects are serious. The key feature is tics – the two and tics may well change quickly. Understanding involuntary and uncontrollable sounds and movements. Barriers to learning what medication, if any, the child is on is important as many of the medications cause tiredness and lack of attention. Tics wax and wane in number, frequency, complexity and Some students try to suppress their tics in the classroom severity. They can change and even disappear completely for or school setting. For some this may be possible for short Try not to ask a student with TS not to do something. a while before new tics take their place or old tics reassert periods of time but often the energy and concentration It will instantly become the very thing that they themselves. These tics will increase with stress or anxiety required suppressing a tic means that the student is have to do and turn into a compulsion. but can often decrease when the student is engaged with unable to engage with what is going on around them. some activity such as drumming, singing or playing sport. Motor tics of the eyes, head or neck may interfere with Common motor tics are: eye blinking (excessively or reading and also affect handwriting or the ability to write in an unusual pattern), echopraxia (imitating others’ for prolonged periods of time. More than 300,000 actions), self-injurious behaviours involving touching, biting, hitting, pulling out eyelashes or hair, smelling Motor and vocal tics may make a student reluctant children and adults or sniffing things. Occasionally inappropriate sexual to read aloud, ask or answer questions and even touching of themselves or others is part of TS. sometimes to ask for help. in the UK have TS. Call our Helpdesk: 0300 777 8427 www.tourettes-action.org.uk.