Beneath the Stripes:
Tourette's Syndrome from the Tiger’s View
by Darin M. Bush
The Book of Tourette’s, Chapter 1, Verse 1
I
am writing about 19 books on Tourette’s spectrum disorder (TS+). The key is: one project at a time. Blast ADHD!
If I did not have it… I could not write these books. Curses!
Foiled again! I prefer the Star
Trek version: “Khan!” But like a bad
marksman, I keep missing the target (audience).
English teachers will tell you to focus on a specific audience. Those same teachers would remind me to get to
the point. I am currently working on a
TS+ book for parents, and I would like to explain that motivation.
I
feel like I am on a mission to get the TS+ word out. "Parents, do not give up on
us!" I can not take credit for it -
the Universe obviously has some plan for me - but I have to say I am stunned by
the reaction my Mom and I get when we give a lecture on TS+, and then at the
end drop the “bomb”. Not only that am I
her son (sighs from moms), but also that I have TS/ADHD/OCD. Half of the stories we tell are things that
happened to her as my parent, or to me.
The reaction from the crowd is typically the same: a mix of
incredulousness ("Him? No!")
and hopeful amazement. The subtext; I
survived, and while I struggle each day against TS+, it is as an adult.
Since
some of this sounds unusual, or perhaps delusional, I need to comment. I am very lucky, and have been given amazing
boons, e.g.: Sherry Pruitt is my Mom. I
am obligated to pay it forward - to help kids avoid what made my childhood
miserable. I asked Mom to lock me up
when I was 15. Quite a change in 2
decades, eh?
You
may ask how a whole room full of TS+ parents can miss my ticcing. Let me clarify. If you have not met me or been to a speech by
another Touretter, you may not realize that I do not tic during lectures. I am in the zone - I am doing what I do and
enjoy best. I have a loud voice and a
large personality. I know, you are
saying, "No! Really?" This is why no one at the lectures notices
the Tourette's until I point it out to them.
And
let us not forget that I am Geek. My
experience of public speaking is abnormal.
I love to speak in public, perform theatre, and teach. Perhaps the social blundering of TS+ is
useful in giving speeches. I do not
regulate my volume well. I do not need a
microphone most of the time. See the
connection? When I want to dominate a
room, I just let the TS+ go, and I can keep an audience focused. In a classroom, the best way to stay out of
trouble is to be the teacher! And for
me, the best way to find a book for parents on surviving Tourette’s is to write
it.
Questions?
Comments? Book ideas? Manuscripts or emails to the Tourette Tiger
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