Tourette's Disorder education and treatment.

What We Can Do to Help Your Child

If your child has been recently diagnoised with Tourette's or your current school does not meet your child's special needs please contact us. Montgomery Academy is equipped to appeal to the more unconventional student by offering a more unconventional format in which to learn. While we do use textbooks and employ the more traditional styles of teaching, these are not the only, nor the primary, means of educating. Whenever and wherever possible hands-on, experiential techniques are used. Building models, dioramas, exploring the campus environment, role playing, field trips, cooking, and other hands on methods are used regularly. Our classrooms and halls reflect what is being studied, drawings, murals, reports and projects are all proudly displayed.

Treatment Options

Treatment for Tourette's disorder focuses on managing tics-helping your child and others cope with the tics. Most cases of TD are mild and will not require medical treatment. Educating yourself, your child, and those around your child (such as teachers) about TD will help your child thrive, as will creating a supportive home and school environment where tics are accepted and accommodated.

In some cases, such as when other conditions are present, counseling may be helpful. If your child's tics affect his or her life significantly, medicines or habit reversal may be considered. The tics can be decreased, but there is no cure for TD at this time.

What is Tourette's Disorder?

Tourette's disorder is a neurological (brain) condition that usually begins in childhood. It causes a child to make sounds or words (vocal tics) and body movements (motor tics) that are beyond his or her control. Tourette's disorder (TD) is also known as Tourette's syndrome and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Not all tics are from TD. Your child may have tics and not develop TD.

Motor tics usually begin between ages 2 and 8. Vocal tics can begin as early as age 2, but they usually start a few years after motor tics. Tics generally are at their worst about age 12. In most children, tics go away or decrease quite a bit in the teen years. But tics can continue into adulthood.

The effect tics have on children varies. Some children have mild tics that have a small impact on their lives. But even mild or infrequent tics may affect your child's self-esteem and relationships with friends and family. Severe and frequent tics may require treatment, including medicine and counseling. Although a child's tics may seem minor, they may interfere with the child's ability to learn and can cause embarrassment.

It is important to remember that:

* Tics are not a sign of low intelligence and do not affect intelligence.
* The severity of your child's tics is not a good indicator of how well he or she will perform in school or in social situations.
* How well your child can cope with tics can be helped by a supportive home, school, and community environment.

What are the symtoms?

Most children with TD have unique types and patterns of vocal and motor tics. These tics may:

* Be a slight twitching of the eyes, jerking of the neck, coughing or throat-clearing, or a series of movements and sounds.
* Occur in bursts of movement (motor) or sounds (vocal). The burst may last from several seconds to several minutes. Tics may also occur more slowly.
* Come and go (wax and wane) over a period of weeks and months and may also change from one type to another. Your child's tics may get more severe and occur more often, and then gradually get better. Weeks or months later, your child may develop a new tic, or an old tic may come back for a while. If your child's symptoms seem to get worse at times, do not assume that you (or your child's school) are doing something wrong. Although things that happen at home and school can have an effect, sometimes tics get worse even when all is going well.

Though we follow New Jersey’s Core Content Curriculum Standards, we are able to remain creative and flexible in our approaches to the subject matter. Please read about our programs.

• Instructional Programs
• Transitional Programs
• Therapeutic Programs
• Guidance Counseling
• Summer Programs

Our holistic, custom-tailored, arts and technology rich approach uses innovative hands-on teaching methods delivered with sensitivity in small, dynamic classrooms on a serene mountain top in pastoral Mendham Township.

Come and see how we can help your son or daughter realize their unique potential in an atmosphere of trust and security that promotes self reliance and a love of lifelong learning.