Tics are very common. We see tics in one in four, one in five children at some point in the first decade of life. Most of these kids don't have Tourette's syndrome," said Dr. Sam Zinner with Seattle Children's.
But Tyler most definitely did have Tourette's. His symptoms had persisted for more than a year.
But as worried as they were about Tyler's disorder, his parents were also concerned about treatment.
"We wanted to do it without medication," said Tyler's mother. "And so when we found Dr. Wiegand, it was life changing for our family."
"Comprehensive behavioral therapy for tics involves teaching kids competing responses to do something different with their muscles when the have the urge," said Dr. Jeffrey Wiegand with Seattle Children's.
"Originally I had head shakes back and forth, so what I do is I keep my neck stiff and I just keep my neck stiff until it's gone," said Tyler.
It took lots of practice. Tyler has lots of different tics.
"We're not looking for a cure. We're looking for finding a way to live with Tourette's syndrome," said Dr. Zinner.
"It's empowering to know that I am doing it all myself without taking drugs and I'm learning how to control it where I can use it later on in life," said Tyler.
He even gave a speech about it in class. Tyler still has Tourette's, but Tourette's no longer has him.
"We're really proud of Tyler. He has worked so hard his fears and his tics. He's just done an amazing job. He's an amazing kid," said Tyler's mom.
Seattle Children's is now training other health providers how to do this therapy.
Source: king5.com
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