Things You'll Need:
- Mirror
- Physician or mental-health professional
-
Step 1
Care for someone with Tourette's Syndrome by bringing all of his tics and vocal outbursts to his attention whenever they happen. Many people with Tourette's are unaware of their tics, and merely bringing them to their attention may help them to try to suppress them. Make sure that you inform them of their symptoms in a calm, helpful manner.
-
Step 2
Use mirror therapy to care for someone with Tourette's Syndrome. This involves having her watch her tics in a mirror, so that she becomes more aware of how her behavior looks to others. Again, this can make her more aware of her condition, and help her to modify her behavior, so that the symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome will be less noticeable to others.
-
Step 3
Eliminate dietary substances that may cause your charge to be jittery, nervous or overstimulated. Caffeine and sugar can exacerbate the symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, so limit coffee, soda, sweets and fruit juice.
-
Step 4
Provide an environment of support and understanding for someone with Tourette's Syndrome. Many symptoms of Tourette's can be aggravated by stress from the outside world, as well as feelings of embarrassment and isolation. By ensuring that the individual with Tourette's is surrounded with people who are aware of the condition, that level of stress may be significantly reduced.
-
Step 5
Make sure that when you care for someone with Tourette's, the individual is following the plan set by health care professionals. This means taking any prescribed medication as directed, being consistent with appointments for behavior-modification therapy and following any other instructions for treatment.
Comments
mmustard1 said
on 1/14/2009 Part 2 (the end of my last post got cut off for some reason)
Remember people, this is not a behavioral disorder. That is a very untrue stereotype that is believed to be the truth by those who don't know any better. People with Tourette Syndrome are not simply poorly behaved people that are out there to get other people's attention. Most affected are fully aware of their condition and have absolutely no control over it.
mmustard1 said
on 1/14/2009 I'd like to make some corrections and point out a couple of things that I agree with in this article.
I do agree with "steps" 3, 4, and 5.
However, I very strongly disagree with steps 1 & 2, at least for an adult. For a child, this might be ok, but I still believe that approaching this as if it was a behavioral problem is a bad thing.
I've had it for 20+ years, and I am fully aware of my tics as they happen. They are as predictable and noticeable as sneezing or hiccuping.
Looking into a mirror will do nothing but make the person feel even more humiliated. If anyone ever suggested that I should sit in front of a mirror, they are likely to get a piece of my mind.
Remember people, this is not a behavioral disorder. That is a very untrue stereotype that is believed to be the truth by those who don't know any better. People with Tourette Syndrome are not simply poorly-beh
mmustard1 said
on 1/14/2009 The author of this article obviously don't have this disorder... I've had it for 20+ years, and I am fully aware of my tics as they happen. They are as predictable and noticeable as sneezing or hiccuping. Looking into a mirror will do nothing but make the person feel even more humiliated.
I very strongly disagree with steps 1 & 2.