Tourette’s Syndrome: Strategies to promote awareness and assist educators in the learning space.
Tourette’s Syndrome is not a disorder that has been commonly featured throughout society and mass media; raising a question of what the general public actually understand about this underexposed neurological disorder.
Despite minimal public awareness of Tourette’s and Tic related disorders, “The Tourette Association of America estimates that 1 in 100 school-aged children have Tourette Syndrome or a similar Tic Disorder.”
In late 2018, 16 year old pop sensation, Billie Eilish utilised social media to publicly address common misconceptions around little-known Tourette’s Syndrome, her own struggle with Tourette’s in her personal life and it’s implications in her early years and education.
Eilish expressed that many young people facing the disorder have to put up with social exclusions, and that personally, she had to teach herself “ways of suppressing my tics and certain techniques that help reduce them” in order to avoid unwanted attention, anxiety, alienation and ensure she wasn’t being distracting in the classroom. Eilish also explains that for people with Tourette’s, attempting to restrain tic’s in a classroom environment often have the reverse effect, in that, it make tic’s even more severe.
“If you can’t hide something, make a feature of it!” — David Brebner
Tourette’s has suffered through minimal reference in society and media, meaning that tic disorders are a foreign concept in mental illness to most. Popular cartoon series, South Park, utilised it’s familiar humorous approach to famously shed light on tic and related chemical neurological disorders, promoting deeper understanding and calling attention to it’s influence on young people and their education in the classroom.
Kids with TS often face social interaction problems, inconsistent behaviour and performance, attention deficit disorders, ODC and hyperactivity leading to stunted education, distractions and various forms of bullying. 86% of Children diagnosed with Tourette’s are also diagnosed with other behavioral, mental health and developmental disorders:
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): 63%
- Anxiety: 49%
- Learning disabilities: 47%
- Autism spectrum disorder: 35%
- Speech or language problems: 29%
- Behavioral or conduct issues: 26%
- Depression: 25%
- Intellectual disability: 12%
View more statistics at: https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/tourettes/related/tourettes-statistics/#gref
With the statistics clearly providing evidence to the influence of tic related disorders on our young people, should society be doing more in spreading awareness and providing help and assistance to both educators and kids, ensuring and promoting strategic learning environments?
David Brebner — Tourette’s Case Study
“Growing up in the mid 70’s in New Zealand with an unrecognised Tic disorder was difficult to say the least”
My father, David Brebner, struggled through his early years, as TS was not yet a recognised neurological disorder. He was constantly bullied and beat up by peers, ridiculed and treated like a disturbance by teachers and avoided and alienated by family friends for having tics that he could not control. His constant estrangement lead to a deep-rooted fear of people, rejection and public exposure.
Upon several visits to various doctors he was placed on extensive drug therapy and admitted to child psychiatric units where various forms of therapy were tried and tested. He was pulled out of school, sheltered in workshops for the disabled and put on Valium to the point of passing out.
Doctors told my grandparents that my dad was mentally retarded and would never achieve anything with his life — he would live permanently in their basement as a dependent.
40 years later… He now has a Masters degree in education and career counseling, is a head TAFE teacher in Electro-technology and is an international speaker, focusing on helping those that are experiencing things similar to his childhood and circumstances, while also providing teachers with the skills to educate and manage children with Tourette’s.
Dave has constructed a course for global educators, entitled, “Living with Tourette’s” that draws on techniques that educators, employers and individuals can utilise in all environments to adapt to the needs of those facing TS.
He has drawn attention to the fact that teachers aren’t set up to apply their educational abilities to those students suffering with TS. Teachers have been taught the ability to educate one student type instead of a dynamic of individuals. Throughout the course he focuses on strategies to aid both educators and employers in working with individuals with TS:
- Learning Styles: Incorporating the individuals abilities, gifts and what they are passionate about into their studies.
- Setting study goals: Time management and set study times/sessions (30mins/1hr) to combat distractions and attention-deficit.
- Developing plans and career goals for students struggling so they have a target to aim at.
- Tactics for job applications and stress/TS management in the workplace.
Dave also shares tips for educators looking at how to adjust the classroom into a stress-free environment for students, ensuring they are comfortable and don’t have to suppress their tics.
Dave hopes that TS will be spotlighted more throughout global society, developing a vast understanding of what Tourette’s Syndrome epitomises and implementing strategies to aid those living with TS.
References
Text:
Engelmen, N. (2018, November 27th.) Billie Eilish reveals she has Tourette Syndrome after compilation of her tics emerges online. Billboard. Retrieved from: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8486878/billie-eilish-tourette-syndrome-diagnosis
Hull, M. (2019, November 25th.) Tourette Syndrome Statistics. The Recovery Village. Retrieved from: https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/tourettes/related/tourettes-statistics/#gref
Images/Videos:
What is Tourette’s Syndrome? [Image]. (2018, January 19th.) Retrieved from: https://aminoapps.com/c/lgbt-1/page/blog/tourettes-syndrome/aV15_RrMu0ueaDeBlvxLvzmx3ZmK1Ljz8zb
Billie Eilish. [Image]. (2018, November 27th.) Retrieved from: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8486878/billie-eilish-tourette-syndrome-diagnosis
South Park. Le Petit Tourette. [Video]. (2007, October 3rd.) Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikW4qaGYrnM
David Brebner. LinkedIn. [Image]. (date unknown) Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-brebner-careerscoach/?originalSubdomain=au
