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