Monday, April 01, 2013
Tics and Tourette’s Disorder is common but misunderstood
In my role as community education nurse for Backus, I have
coordinated countless presentations by the experts on a wide variety of topics.
When Mahmoud Okasha, MD, Associate Clinical Professor at
Yale School of Medicine and a member of the Backus medical staff, approached me
because he wanted to present a community education program about Tics and Tourette’s Disorder, I must confess I knew next to nothing about the subject.
He is the expert in this field, so I made the arrangements
for him and then did a little research. What I discovered is that in every
school in America there is likely at least one child who has Tourette’s. It is a neurological disorder
that starts in childhood and involves involuntary repetitive movements or
unwanted sounds that can’t be controlled (tics).
Tics are classified as either simple or complex. Simple tics
are sudden, brief and repetitive, like head jerking, shoulder shrugging,
sticking the tongue out, or hiccupping.
Complex tics are distinct, coordinated patterns of movements involving
several muscle groups such as touching the nose, touching other people,
flapping the arms, repeating others’ words or phrases.
He will be showing a few clips of a documentary entitled “I
Have Tourette’s, but Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me.” Produced by the Tourette Syndrome Association, this
compelling video features children between the ages of 6 and 13 who tell their
stories about the challenges they face.
I confess I got choked up watching these courageous children share their
experiences — and how they strive
to fit in and be accepted.
The program will be held Wednesday, April 3, from 6-7:30 p.m. at
the Backus Hospital main lobby conference room.
Register for this free program by calling 860-889-8331,
ext 6381 and join us as Dr. Okasha educates us all about this unusual and often
misunderstood condition.
Alice Facente is a community education nurse for the Backus
Health System. To comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy
Living blog at www.backushospital.org/backus-blogs or e-mail Ms. Facente or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org.
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