| What
is Tourette Syndrome?
Tourette
Syndrome is a neurological disorder that strikes
roughly 1 in 1000 children, usually between the
ages of 6 and 9, but can occur as late as 21
years of age. It is more common in boys than it
is in girls, and manifests itself in the form of
motor or verbal "tics." Verbal tics
are much less common in occurrence.
However, because of the disturbance and
disruption verbal tics often cause in public,
they are the most common symptom the unknowing
public associates with the disorder. Motor
tics are the most common symptom and can cover a
wide range from facial tics to tics involving
arms, legs, feet, shoulders, etc.
Who
"We" Are?
"We"
are Craig and John Whitley. John was
born in Louisiana in 1982 and first started
having Tourette motor tics at the age of 8,
about 6 years after the family moved to Houston,
Texas. I am Craig Whitley, John's devoted
father and your devoted webmaster of
Tourette-Syndrome.com.
What
is Our Mission?
Our
mission and goal is to provide
the people with Tourette Syndrome, ADHD, ADD and
OCD,
along with their parents, grandparents, loved
ones, educators, and medical professionals a
true online community
with numerous means of communicating with one
another. Since we first came online in
early 1998 we have learned that the most
important thing parents of Tourette children and
Tourette patients themselves want from the
Internet is the ability to communicate with one
another -- to write, chat and talk to others who
are living or coping with this disorder
Our
History
We
first came online as Tourette Syndrome Online,
located a a free-hosted site on Tripod.com.
For the first 2 years of our existence we
provided mostly information to the
Tourette-interested public. In early 1999
we established Tourette-Syndrome.com and began
offering more features, like a chat room and a
message board which we called TS Forum.
Since startup we have answered literally
thousands of emails, most of which contained the
same frequently asked questions. All, of course,
has been done on a volunteer basis, mostly by
myself.
How
You Can Help Thousands of People Today
 I
am not afraid to ask for your help, because it
represents the means by which this website will
grow and survive. We must all help one
another to improve our chances of improving the
quality of our lives with these disorders and
conditions. Please consider writing an
article or story for this website. This is your
way of making a difference in the life of
someone else! We offer you the ability to
become a beacon of hope in the life of the next
child who enters this website that has TS, ADHD
or OCD.
This
website gives you the vehicle to help others
dealing with TS in their lives. If you have a
good school program for TS children in your
area, a great teacher than understands the needs
of TS children, or a doctor that is considered
an expert on Tourette Syndrome, post on this
information in our forum or send me the
recommendation via e-mail. This is your chance
to reach out and help others! After all, you
were probably looking for help yourself when you
decided to visit this site. By reaching
out and helping other like ourselves, we can all
make a difference!
|
