Tourette's Syndrome is a distraction disorder and can be very strange to people who do not know or understand it. This is a basic guide to what it is and how to treat people with it.


Steps

1. Do some research either at a local library or on the internet.
2. Look for signs of Tourette's. When first meeting someone with this neurological disorder, it may or may not be clear that this person has TS. Some cases are very mild and are only simple motor or vocal tics. Other people have it fairly rough and their tics consist of yelling, flailing of the limbs or even facial tics which stop speech in its tracks.
3. Do not stare if the person has a motor (movement based) tic. That is very impolite. If need be say that it is a little distracting. Be honest, but never rude.
4. Ask the person about it. Don't be pushy, though. First ask the person if they are comfortable talking about it. If they are, ask away. Make sure your question is intelligent and not something such as "Can't you just stop?". No. They cannot just stop. TS is much like Parkinson's in that you simply cannot have complete control over your body.
5. Be patient. If someone has a tic that interrupts speech (either motor or vocal) let him or her get out their thought. It's very irksome when people don't let you finish your sentence and even if it takes 1 whole minute just to say "I would like some ice cream" it's nice to be able to say it.
6. Defend your friend. It's going to happen almost everywhere you go with this person that they will get looks or even sometimes people will chant horrible things at them. Back them up and make them feel like they don't deserve that. TS, among the things it comes with, will cause Depression. People making fun of you when you have TS will make you feel like total crap.
7. Make the person feel they can trust you. TS, in more than half of the cases, comes with it ADD and ADHD. Also it often comes with OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This isn't too strange if you think about it. OCD causes a person to do something repetitively, and TS can cause a person to tic over and over again sometimes for minutes on end. They both are repetition. Also associated with TS patients is Anxiety, Depression, and sometimes even Comprehension Problems. However, not all TS patients have these additional problems, so don't assume so. People who are unlucky enough to have TS (which is about 1 in every 100 people in America) have a slew of problems that come along with this fairly unknown disorder so being a person of trust is a great thing. If the person feels as though they can relax around you and talk to you openly they will actually exhibit less tics than normal and be more of a "normal" person than usual.
8. Don't talk about it. It is OK to ask questions, but don't make it the topic of all your conversations. Pretend the person doesn't have it and go on with your lives as normal people.
9. Make the person feel comfortable. Ignoring the tics, pretending they don't bother you, or just not reacting to them can be great. People with TS have enhanced bursts of tics when they are stressed and if people are noticing their tics they will become more stressed out, which will increase their tics, which will make them unhappy about not controlling themselves which will stress them out further, increasing their tics yet again. It is a horrible cycle.

Tips

• People with TS are normal people. Treat them that way.

Warnings

• Some motor tics can actually include hurting ones self. If you see this going on it is very important you tell them. A lot of people with Tourette's Syndrome are so used to having it they do not realize their tics change (which can happen in a week or two years). They need to know about hurting themselves (this is usually simply biting skin off of their lips of punching themselves) so they can talk to their neurologist and get medication fixed.