Tourette Syndrome

The jury’s out on whether or not homeschooling is a great idea for a kid with TS and Homeschooling Our Tourette’s Kid is a terrific blog that puts it into practice. There are two valid sides to the argument, to home-school a kid with Tourette’s or not to home-school:

1. Isolating a kid with TS doesn’t prepare the child for the real world that, frankly, isn’t completely ready for tics and twitches
2. Forcing a kid with TS for the sake and sacrifice of teaching the world about Tourette Syndrome may teach people about the condition and tolerance, but this can come with great sacrifice to the child’s education and even greater risk to self-esteem

Setting aside personal reasons for living in a rural area where schools and work might create circumstances necessary for homeschooling - and my kids are in Arizona where the schools are just about the worst in the nation (48th!) despite Phoenix being a thriving metropolis … I can hardly think of a better place for homeschooling - I’m all for having my kids in public education, no matter the conditions. Not that we want the school day to be nonsensical or merely an education on how to survive bullying but we read together, play music, go to museums, do math together, church, and talk about all things educational and sports-oriented. They get a broad exposure and they have to deal with a crappy school. But if you’re involved, there’s no way a well-rounded education isn’t gotten.

Conversely, kids can be tyrannical and subjecting kind, lovely, intelligent kids to the brutal and intense ridicule that can be doled out by what might otherwise be a bunch of little gang-bangers can be a big risk. Either they survive with their wits (and TS kids are more often than not witty, intelligent and athletic) or their self-esteem hits rock bottom and will take years to recover. So, how to gamble?

If you’re not there as a parent to support your kid with TS, it doesn’t matter. If they have a little success or a big one, it’s not going to matter to you and if they get whupped at school for throat-clearing and arm-twitching, God save you … and your child.

On the other hand, if you are there, regardless of the capacity - homeschooling to PTA to just listening and offering the occasional hug - then you’re creating a survivor. In this case, get them out in the world and let them learn about winning and losing and winners and losers and see inequalities and senseless brutality in all its forms. They sure won’t understand today’s news without it. For that matter, the games they play on their XBox won’t make any sense at all.

If we’re all here for a purpose - who we are, what we do, what we look like, what we act like - then good or bad we’re a lesson for someone. And it’s wrong for us to shelter anyone because we’re taking that person out of circulation where they will do some good and sooner or later teach the world something valuable about humanity.

Still, if your purpose is to get your kid out of a crappy school system and has nothing to do with keeping them “out of harm’s way” then by God, you’ve got my blessing.