User blog comment:TaraTwitcher/Dont judge me,but i have diseases ,that are different, so it would be great if no one teased me about it/@comment-9584883-20150216140430

Hello Tara,

Thank you for sharing this with us. I actually know somebody with Tourettes. One of the things I do in my spare time is teach martial arts. One of my students, a man who has been training with me for nearly 2 years has suffered from tourettes all of his life. When I first met him, it was a concern. In class, he would has his loud "Tics" very often. He warned me ahead of time. I said it would be no problem. I saw this as an opportunity to perhaps help him in some way. After about 3 months, his tics in class began to dissapate. 6 month in, it stopped altogether. I haven't heard a tic out of him since. I don't know how he does in his life away from class but he even wants to teach classes on his own when he earns his black belt. He has come a long way. It helps that my class is small (about 7 students, 2 of which are his brothers).

Not to say that this is a cure... but I believe it helped him focus and build confidence. I noticed he ticked most when he was nervous. Maybe something to consider. A private teacher or a small class. Maybe at a park or a friend of a friend type thing if you are concerned about other people's reactions. Martial artists are a close knit family in class usually and realize everyone has something to deal with. Good luck.