What makes him special

I think that Monster Man benefited from the several months that passed between the time that we first started to suspect Tourette Syndrome and the time that he was actually diagnosed. It gave him a lot of time to learn about TS and to get comfortable with the diagnosis. By the time that the doctor looked at me and said "He does have Tourette Syndrome", Monster Man and I were both able to just reply with "okay." There was no shock, no upset. In fact, we were more relieved. We were relieved to have an official diagnosis, to know that we were for sure dealing with what we'd thought we were dealing with. We were prepared, and we could face this challenge head-on.

Over the past few days, we've been discussing the medical research study that Monster Man may have the opportunity to become involved in. We talked about the benefits, as well as the risks. Believe it or not, Monster Man actually expressed that he was concerned that he'd lose his tics. He has told us, on more than one occasion, that the tics are part of what makes him special. He likes being different, having something that sets him apart from the other kids. His biggest concern, as is ours, is the level of anxiety he deals with on pretty much a daily basis. He wants something that will help take the anxiety away from him, and he's okay if the medication limits the number of tics, but he wants to keep on tic-ing.

I'm really impressed with how well Monster Man has faced this challenge!