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Tourette and Advocacy

Kathy Giordano - Education Specialist for TAA Shares important information for us as parents to help us better advocate for our children

 

"October, 2012 The U.S. Department of Education published; DISABILITY RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT HIGHLIGHTS; OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS. http://www2.ed.gov/documents/news/section-504.pdf

(I would encourage you to download the entire 12 pages because it is an exceptional resource.)"

 

Please click below for the entire article (PDF)

Advocating for Your Child Regarding SUSPENSIONS in the PUBLIC SCHOOL

Tourette Talk

 

 

Kathy Giordano was a guest speaker at our Tourette Talk in February.

 

Below are highlights of her talk:

 

  • Recommends Dr. Ross Greene and to visit his website

  • Recommends reading Dysinhibition Syndrome by Rose Woods

 

OCD and TS

 

Digraphia

 

  • Slow and laborious handwriting

  • Hand and finger cramping

  • Sloppy handwriting

  • Inability to copy correctly from paper or board to another paper

  • Inability to transfer thoughts onto paper

 

ALL CAN BE ADDRESSED WITH THE USE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES

 

Sensory Integration

 

Common Indicators

 

  • Touch

  • Texture

  • Smells/sounds

  • Lights

  • Sensory Tics; scabs, biting, nails, hurting or hitting self

  • Over stimulating environments

  • Need for extra sensory input

  • Runs into walls, needs hugs, painful actions

  • Excessive chewing on clothing

 

Processing Speed

 

Many kids have a five second delay in processing information

 

  • Difficulty following directions whether simple or complex

  • Difficulty following conversations

  • Difficulty with noisy environments

  • Difficulty with responding quickly

  • Difficulty with following through with information such as directions or following lists

 

Executive Functioning

 

Frontal lobe is the conductor of the brain

 

Unorganized with

 

  • Time

  • Homework, keeping room clean, possessions

  • Materials

  • Thoughts

 

Deficits with

 

  • Short term planning

  • Long term planning

  • Consequences; not processed consistently

 

Difficulty in Transitioning

 

  • Tasks

  • Moving from classroom to classroom

  • Changing schools
    -Every child needs a SAFE person who believes them and that they can trust to listen to them and respond accordingly

  • Leaving home to go to school

 

Government laws that can help a family with TS in the school setting

 

  • FBA (Functional Behavioral Assessment) Government mandates that an assessment must be done to determine why an individual engages in challenging behavior and how the behavior relates to the environment

  • PBIP (Positive Behavioral Intervention Plan) Government mandates that an intervention plan must be initiated
    -Part 200 NYS Dept. of Education regulations say
    --If you have a child with an IEP (Individual Education Plan) when the student is 15 years old, the school is required to start transition plant to help the student transition from High School to Adulthood

 

Federal Government is reclassifying Tourette Syndrome individuals.  We believe that TS is commonly misunderstood to be a behavioral or emotional condition rather than what it is; a neurological condition.

 

Federal Government is now including Tourette Syndrome in the definition of OTHER health impairment. We have hope that this will help correct the misconception of TS as a behavioral or conduct disorder and correctly identify it as a neurological condition.

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