How to Respond to a Tourette's Episode

If you know someone with Tourette syndrome, you might be wondering how you should act when you are around them. Tourette syndrome is often a very sensitive subject for people who suffer from it. They often experience scorn, rejection, ridicule and pity. Follow these steps to respond when someone you know has a Tourette's episode.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Understand what it's like to have Tourette syndrome. A Tourette's sufferer will experience involuntary body movements and noises, also known as tics. Some factors, such as bright lights, loud noises and nervousness can trigger more tics to occur. For this very reason, you should not call attention to, or make fun of a person having a Tourette's episode.

2. Ignore the tics whenever they happen. Simply act as if it hadn't happened at all. Tourette's sufferers don't want people to treat them any differently than anyone else.

3. Know what to do if the person's tics are causing him to injure himself, although this isn't very common. Move him to a safe place, have him lie down or call for help if you need it. In addition, remember that if the person is having a particularly intense episode, help him get to a dark and quiet room to help him get calm.

Tips & Warnings

• Only joke about the tics if the person makes the first joke. It's all right to chuckle a bit if she is poking fun at herself. Some Tourette's sufferers are more comfortable with their condition than others are.
• Don't ever make a person feel stupid for having a Tourette's episode. This is something they have absolutely no control over.

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