Beneath the Stripes - To Parents of High School Graduates

Beneath the Stripes:

Tourette's Syndrome from the Tiger’s View

by Darin M. Bush

To Parents of High School Graduates

I am an admirer of Lewis Grizzard and Dave Barry. They wrote about serious subjects in a very un-serious tone. While we laughed at their humor, we also saw the Truth of what they said. My alter ego, the Tourette Tiger, writes Beneath the Stripes in the same tone. Maybe I should say I try to write in the same tone. Do not mistake the humorous tone for a lack of seriousness. I take Tourette’s syndrome and its related disorders (TS+) very seriously. However, I am trying to avoid taking TS+ too seriously, as people often do. In between the quips, maybe I can sneak in some Truth. The Joshua Center has graciously invited me to get you to laugh and learn. This is not as fattening as a "lunch and learn." See? That was not so difficult.

However, I am finding this assignment more difficult than I first thought. I was asked to discuss life after high school for the TS+ teenager. Since this is such a wide topic, e.g.: college, career, relationships, etc., I decided to break it down into more digestible pieces. Actually, that sounds like lunch and learn stuff again. In any case, education and understanding are the goals.

My education comes from being a TS+ teenager myself. I also worked with TS+ teenagers, but I never parented one. When I facilitated support groups for TS+ parents, I learned a lot but not everything. I do not claim to know all there is to know about TS+. Anyone who tells you they know everything about Tourette is trying to fool someone, maybe themselves. Even when I lecture on TS+, I tell folks, “Half of what we tell you is wrong, we just don’t know which half.” I write about Tourette so we can find out together.

Questions? Suggestions? Teach me something at the Tourette Tiger

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