Tourette syndrome is a disease that can affect children, its symptoms are a repetitive involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics.
Although the causes of Tourette syndrome are unknown at this time, it is considered as a neurological disorder that occurs in the brain; a chemical disorder.The person who suffers from this syndrome cannot control its symptoms; her body never stops moving- it is an involuntary movement- and she can even punch her own body. Furthermore, there is verbal symptoms; uncontrollable sounds like screaming or parking.
It is really hard to cope with this disorder. We are going to follow the daily routine of two girls between 12 and 15 years old, Lisa and Carla, who suffers from this syndrome. We are going to find how both they and their parents are copying.
Our first impression about Lisa is that she is an extraordinary beautiful little girl. She is nice and healthy. Then one of her symptoms starts to appear; she starts to move consistently with no control.
It is a struggle for her to make a sandwich. When she tries to open a jar of jam, it was like a trigger for endless back and forth movements. She says, “When the jar touches me I must touch it back, it is a compulsion to touch back.”
Her mother is watching all her daughters’ symptoms. She can open the jar preventing her daughter from touching it. But she forces Lisa to open it so that she can depend on herself. Her objective is the hope that her daughter can be able to live independently and function in this world.
She says, “As a parent it is hard to watch your kid suffering in this way, this is not what I have expected when I have kids.” Despite having these moments of depression, her mother still has a positive attitude and encourages her daughter to go to school.
Lisa is waiting for a decision from the schools’ board whether she will study in school or at home. The more she waits the more she gets stressed and this starts her uncontrollable movements and tics. Finally, she discovered that she will be home schooled as her symptoms are severe and she cannot concentrate.
Carla –the other girl- is always judged by others. People are concentrating on h
er symptoms rather than her spirit that lies beneath.Despite she cannot control her tics, when she screams, she apologies to her colleagues. If she tries to suppress this urge to scream, she feels sick in her stomach and has a headache. It is like everybody’s urging to rub his body when suffering from allergies.
Carla’s father encourages her to go to school but most of her colleagues see her as a freak. She says, “I am a normal girl who is trying to cope with what is happening in my life and I will always have hope.”
Sometimes she is filled with rage like other girls. But hers is tense and she feels remorseful afterwards. When she is having a bad day [she did not think that all her life is bad or unfair] , she goes to sit beside a river. The sound of water makes her peaceful and less frustrated.
Her father tells her “you can be what you want to be, Tourette cannot stop you. You have a disease but it does not define you.”
All her physical symptoms make her more emotional than others. She says, “If I concentrate I will do good job in creating myself and my character.” She adds ,“ Things are not always as they appear.”[When their lives touch your heart, it is your call to appreciate your life more]
ABC- primetime- family secrets
