HOPELESS!

 A POSSIBLE FIX FOR TOURETTE’S SYNDROME

The  headline was originally KIDS WITH TICKS.

I changed it. I didn’t want to sound like a jerk.

A jerk? That’s what we call an insensitive clod? Jerk?

We bad.

Kids with Tourette Syndrome get “tics”. They are are caused by nerves that are too sensitive – hyperexcitable. Tourette’s kids can’t keep hands, feet, arms, legs, head from twitching or jerking. Sometimes Tourette’s causes vocal tics which can result in embarrassing noises or even in saying things that piss people off. Sometimes strings of profanity pop up.

Shit, shit, shit! (Imagine the consequences!)

The exact science behind Tourette’s has been elusive.  But researchers at The University of Nottingham (Journal of Neuropsychology) are tracking it down. They find that a particular piece of the brain, the “striatum”, is in overdrive in these kids which causes the  brain’s cortex to be bombarded with too many signals and too much stimulation. Their work has lead to the idea of using an electromagnetic stimulation device (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ) to suppress the excess excitation.

WHAT’S GOOD

The good thing is that this basic approach to the science behind Tourette’s seems to be unearthing the mechanism behind it. And, if all goes well, kids with Tourrette’s might be able to get fixed up without drugs. Just by applying an electromagnetic device to their heads for a few minutes a day.

This is all very exciting.

WHAT’S BAD

What’s bad is that we’re not there yet. This work is ongoing. More to be done. Maybe a device has to get approved by regulatory agencies. And kids don’t stay kids forever. We need this thing. MISTER ScienceAintSoBad is hoping for fast progress.

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That drawing is mine.

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EXCEPTION TO THE RULE?

DON’T DO IT

The kids are out of control,  right?  Maybe a good smack would do the trick. It worked for you, didn’t it? Back in the day?

Dr. Murray Straus (Sociology Dept. , University of New Hampshire) says physical punishment isn’t a good idea. Neither is giving the kids to the next door neighbor, by the way. His new book “The Primordial Violence” examines the evidence from 32 different countries and 7,000 kids in the US.

Does spanking work?

It does. – If you’re goal is to get the kids to shut up and stop being a pest. You can modify behavior, using force. It doesn’t take a genius. But don’t go there, okay? Here’s why.

There are other ways to get kids to behave that are just as good as spanking without the negatives.  Spanking can mess up the bond between you and your children as well as affect their self esteem. Before you dismiss that as a lot of hooey, here’s what Straus saw from looking at what worked and what didn’t work with the thousands of kids he looked at. Kids that were spanked became “hitters” themselves. They struck out at other kids and even at their parents. When they grew up, they became physically abusive to their partners.  Kids who were spanked developed slower mentally and they did worse at school.

That’s a lot of bad stuff considering that you can do just as well by just holding back on privileges or using “time outs” to get the same result.

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