The significance of support

Posted on March 6, 2012 by RowenaM

There is no strength without unity.
~ Irish Proverb

Hello everyone. Last week was a pretty good week for me. I am getting much better grades in both Geometry and Biology. Stress has been lifted off of my shoulders as I persevere to the finish line in all of my courses. This is all because of a schedule that was made to help me feel less stressed and more comfortable, and my parents are cheering me on.

My tics have been up and down, but they have been mostly down. They still only get high when I become agitated. But, strangely, on Leap Day, my tics were extreme, and I honestly don’t know what it was that caused it. The day before Leap Day and the day after, my tics were barely around. I found that unusual and, yet, fascinating.

I have been out of gummies for a few days, and I have only one pill of Zoloft left. I am hoping to get both of those refilled soon so that I don’t have huge roller-coaster emotions like I did when I was in Miami two years ago.

I am writing a lot more in my book, “Sky Ward.” I have two other friends who are writers, and they are a great help with my editing. But it will take awhile for me to edit. I just got done editing chapter 1, and there are at least six chapters that I have written. So, I will still keep you guys up to date with my book. Continue reading →

Stressing over school and medication

Posted on January 31, 2012 by RowenaM

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
~ Frederick Douglass

Hello everyone! This my first real post. I’m so excited to be a part of this blog. So, this past week has been extra stressful for me. School has been a drag. Since I am home-schooled online, I have to talk to my teachers over the phone. We have these assignments called DBA’s (Discussion-Based Assessments). The teachers talk to you about the material that you learned and ask you questions.

I am always nervous because of my social anxiety. If I have to talk to a male teacher, then my nerves are higher. I have two DBA’s to get done before midnight tonight. For a while now, when I got really agitated or extremely nervous, my tics were very strong. When I’m not feeling that way, they only come up once in a while.

Also, math is my worst subject. I am learning Geometry this year, and it has been a pain in the neck for months now. But, I will make it through. If I could get through Algebra 1 with a lot of struggling, I can do this. Continue reading →

New term, new me, same school

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Caleb Davidson

I just started going back to school after being homeschooled for about four months, and I am loving every minute of it. I get really tired by the end of the day sometimes, but I am so grateful to be back.

But with coming back, there still are the challenges of teasing and bullies. But you know what, I’m OK with people talking behind my back. I’m OK with kids laughing and mocking me. No, it’s not anywhere near as bad as it was four months ago, but even if it goes back to that level, I truly don’t care.

It has taken me so long to figure out that it doesn’t matter what people think. People make fun of me, but the majority of people that I know don’t. If you are feeling like everyone doesn’t want to accept you, make some friends. Go out and do something. But don’t feel bad for yourself, because the more you feel that way, the more it’s going to pull you down.

I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who has helped me get back to school. But most of all, I am thankful to my mom and dad for their support through all of this. Continue reading →

Switch to homeschooling saved AND enhanced my life

Posted on January 23, 2012 by RowenaM

I remember it being a Friday when my mom pulled me out of school for good. I never knew I would be homeschooled. I used to make fun of it, but it essentially saved my life. All of my teachers are have been kind and supportive so far. They care about me and they make sure I am successful when it comes to education. I have learned more than I ever have, and I even have made new friends.

The advantage to it is that I can keep my sanity and not be made fun of. The disadvantage is that I don’t go out very much, and my social anxiety worsens. But I have been working on that, and I am a lot better at talking to people than I used to be. I would deal with a vicious cycle in the outside world. My normal nerves would make my social anxiety worse, making my tics higher, making my nerves worse, and so forth.

At 14 years old, I decided I wanted to make a page on Facebook. At first, I didn’t know what my page would be about. I ticked, and then the Tourette’s Syndrome idea happened. I decided I would make a Tourette’s page. Then, I had to figure out what to name it. I couldn’t think of anything until my second mom gave me the idea of the title sounding like a tic. Continue reading →

Hiding Tourette’s: School, education and elephants

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Caleb Davidson

My name is Caleb Davidson, and I have Tourette Syndrome.

School, /sko͞ol/: an institute for educating children.

For the past several months, Instead of going to school, I have done schoolwork at home. I am currently trying to go back to school, but that will take work. When I left public school, my Tourette Syndrome was not as vocal as it is now, but we are still trying. For personal reasons, homeschooling isn’t working for me. I’m just the kind of person that needs a teacher, but I need a teacher and a class that can cooperate with my Tourette’s.

As hard as this has been, this new coming term, we are going to start bringing me back to school, one period at a time. Seeing how I am in middle school, we have seven different class periods, so that just makes the work harder.

We have to get a class with teachers and students that can still concentrate despite my noise, without my noise affecting their academic performance. I have to make it just as fair for other students, parents and teachers. And that’s what we are doing. We also have plan, and that brings me to the next part of this article.

An “elephant in the room” is a phrase used to describe something that is being hid but is obviously there. At first, I tried to hide my Tourette’s, but that’s like hiding the elephant in the room.

Now me, along with my parents and school workers are trying to eliminate the elephant by education. Education is the key, if people know about my Tourette’s, it doesn’t bother them as much — for the majority people that is. If you, or someone you know, has Tourette Syndrome, don’t hide it. Do the opposite, and educate as many people as you can.