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[quote=Anonymous]15:07, I know it's difficult to comprehend if you're not living the life of a Tourette's parent, but there are different degrees of severity with Tourette's syndrome. Most kids with Tourette's are able to suppress their tics, some with very severe cases do not have that capability.

It is absolutely not "a show." What happens when kids suppress their tics is a pressure builds up inside and they eventually have to express them at some point. It takes a tremendous amount of concentration and energy for them to suppress the tics because it's like a constant "brain hiccup" if you will. So even if they're not showing them on the outside, they're having them on the inside and it's extremely stressful and almost unbearable. The way it's been described to me by some tourette's kids and adults is it's like you have a mosquito bite that is driving you crazy and you have to itch it, but your hands are tied and there's no way to scratch.

Most kids with Tourette's to the degree my son has it typically start much younger at around 3-5 years old. But for my son, it didn't come into full bloom until a year ago at age 14. So if you can imagine, being a teenager, going through puberty and then all of the sudden your entire world and life as you knew it changes almost overnight. Like every other kid you want to fit in, but now that's become almost impossible because you're constantly worrying about making odd and embarrassing sounds or movements.

So, no, it is the furthest thing from a "show" for attention. 
It is a condition I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy and I'm truly amazed at how resilient my son has been through it all.

It's not a situation where I'm letting it consume me either. I know it's hard to comprehend unless you are dealing with this thing yourself, but my son suffers tremendously with this and of course the screeching is bothersome, but it doesn't end there. This vocal tic is ramping up so much in intensity and frequency that he's got ringing in his ears, a sore throat and hoarse voice. It's almost non-stop right now and it's so loud you can literally hear him if you are walking down the street outside our house with all of the windows and doors closed!

He is my only child and you'd almost have to be a stone for this not to be all-consuming. If it's not his tics, it's HUGE canker sores on his tongue or mouth that develop into a biting tic and OCD. If it's not that, it's him having  "narcolepsy" episodes where he falls into walls, if it's not that, it's severe anxiety.

I'm not saying all of this for any pity, I'm just trying to paint a picture of what this is like, and my son's condition and issues are just one part of what I deal with in my life.

It's very easy for people to sit back and say, well just do this and just do that. But trust me, if you were in my shoes, you would understand why I'm so frozen right now that I can barely breath.

Sure, things could be a hundred times worse, and I'm so grateful they are not. I have tried for so long to take baby steps, take action, do whatever I can to move forward and make changes, but each time I take a step forward I seem to get knocked back about 50 steps.

I wrack my brains daily.......okay, what can I do today to start moving forward? Scouring Craigslist for jobs; thinking of every way under the sun to get an income; sending out resumes; contacting old friends and colleagues to reach out for job opportunities; thinking of possible business ideas, and the list goes on.

Example: Over a year ago, a few months before my son's Tourette's and Lyme came into full bloom, I took a full-time marketing/PR position with a promising start-up company. This was part of my plan to get out of the marriage. Not only did the job go south in less than 6 months because the man i worked for was VERY verbally abusive and it was just he and I in a small office, but then my son's situation started and there was no way I could keep a fulltime position.

Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is for me to get to the point of this  post originally, it took a pretty long time of trying everything under the sun and having road blocks pop up no matter which way I turn, no matter how positive and optimistic I tried to be. I didn't just come on here and post after a few months of hardship and not proactively doing anything to try and change my circumstances.

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