Written on
September 13, 2008 by
Kristie
Itch on my right arm Now I must scratch the left arm Has to be even Must finish this test Girl behind me popping gum Cannot concentrate Eyebrows up and down Wiggling ears and rolling eyes Gives me a headache This Haiku was written by my daughter, Madeline. She is ten and has Tourettes, ADHD,…
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Written on
September 6, 2008 by
Kristie
Have you ever had someone say something to you that changed your world or gave you a new perspective? The first time it happened to me was in the months following 9-11. I was riddled with anxiety about the safety and future of my children and had fallen in a deep depression. My 10 week…
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Written on
August 30, 2008 by
Kristie
Nightmares have been a nightly occurrence for me these last few weeks. The message of the dream is always the same but the scenario changes each night. I’m always struggling in these nightmares; trying to climb slippery stairs to reach my kids or failing to save my toddler from a watery grave. If I’m not…
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Written on
August 23, 2008 by
Kristie
We started having family meetings two years ago. My three oldest children were all in at least one extracurricular activity and my husband was traveling quite a bit. Meals where everyone was present were only happening on the weekends and the constant coming and going had me feeling disconnected from them. I began the Family…
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Written on
August 16, 2008 by
Kristie
My son Connor has had a dry, grunt-like cough for the last couple of days and Isabelle has the sniffles. Neither of them have a cold. Connor does have asthma but I fear that the cough is not related to a respiratory issue nor is Isabelle’s sniffing. Seems my kids aren’t sick. I should be…
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Written on
August 9, 2008 by
Kristie
My second daughter, Isabelle was born via c-section eight years ago. She was not at all happy about being taken from her warm, dark environment. She spent the first hour of her life screaming a high pitch scream that had me and my husband questioning if a second baby was really such a good idea….
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Written on
August 2, 2008 by
Kristie
Three of my four kids have sensory processing dysfunction, a condition that exists when sensory signals don’t get organized into appropriate responses. The jury is out on the two year old but I’m starting to see some signs of what’s yet to come. When the older three were toddlers I never questioned if any of…
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Written on
July 26, 2008 by
Kristie
Madeline was diagnosed with Tourettes Syndrome, ADHD, and OCD at the age of eight with me and my husband at her side. It’s been two years since that day and my husband has yet to let the word Tourettes pass through his lips. We never talk about it and I’m sad about that. We have…
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Written on
July 19, 2008 by
Kristie
What do you think of when you hear the word “Tourettes”? A person barking, shouting, or swearing? This is what most people think (thanks to the media) when in actuality less than 15% of people with Tourette Syndrome (TS) have coprolalia which is defined as involuntary swearing or the involuntary utterance of obscene words or…
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Written on
July 14, 2008 by
Kristie
My oldest daughter was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome two years ago at the age of eight. Her first tic, sniffing, began when she was six but at the time we had no idea it was a tic. We assumed she had a cold or allergies. Her constant sniffing was annoying at times so we were…
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