Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Meeting with My Professors about Tourette's

As of today, i've met with two of my professors this semester about my Tourette's. For those of you who are new to my page, every semester I meet with each of my professors to let them know about Tourette's, what it is, and how it effects me in class. Like always, the two professors i've met with so far have been great about it! One professor knew very little about Tourette's and the other knew a great deal and had had previous students with TS. Regardless of their background knowledge, both were incredibly understanding and kind. My professor that I met with today said that he had a student whose Tourette's was prominent before and the students just become very used to it. I've yet to have a professor who was anything but understanding

In these meetings I vary what I tell the professor based on the class size and set up, but I do make sure to tell all my professors these four things which I think are important for them to know:

1. Tics change from day to day, so one day my tics may be very prominent and the next day they might not be.
2. I can get new tics at any time, and it can be very unpredictable.
3. My vocal tics can be noises or words. They are random and have nothing to do with what is being said or what is going on in class.
4. If I ever step out of the room or have to use other accommodations that require me to miss class, it's because I have to, not because I want to. I don't like missing any class or material and I really care about and am looking forward to this class. I rarely use these accommodations, but on occasion I have to because my tics just make it difficult for me to stay in the classroom.

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