thanks for the input everyone

Lara, interestingly it seems to be mainly vocal tics and the old jaw snappers etc

the wisdom's themselves are still not giving any pain etc.....just "there"
Our physician feels that the mere pressure on the nerves caused by the gums being slightly swollen is enough to be triggering things

The acupuncture always calms things tho and today was a much better day.

Lara, thanks for the hugs.... i need one right now
Chemar, i was wondering about acupuncture. does it help with the vocalizations too? Scott was just talking to me last night that his body tics isn't what bothers him, its his vocalizations. He's been on clonodine since the beginning of this journey, and that has helped the body tics, but we've not found anything to help with his screeches, and other vocal tics. AND i was wondering too, those of you who have children driving age.... Did your child have a hard time getting the permit? Scott has yet to pass that stupid test. its so frustrating for him.
vicky

Hi Vicky
yes, my son really responds well to acupuncture and has been seeing the same therapist for 8 years now....started even before we got the TS dx
It seems to really quell the vocal tics for him and generally calm his whole system. Important to find a therapist tho that knows about TS and how best to place needles for it

when we first started supplements L-carnitine also helped with his vocal tics....but after a short while we noticed it aslo making him 'edgy" and stopped it. Other people have reported very positive results with it tho...also for eye tics. As always tho, check for possible med interactions with the doc first, especially as it is an amino acid

Vicky, both of mine are driving now. There was a time when I didn't think my son would ever be able to drive, let alone want to leave the house. His tics are very much subsided now compared with when he was younger so they weren't really too much of an issue for him when he was learning. He's doing just fine now although I got a lot of white hairs attempting to teach him in between his driving school lessons at the start. Not sure how it all works there, but here you have to do a written test of the road rules/laws and also a driving test. He did just fine. Considering all the anxiety and social issues my son has had all his life, I am very thankful that he's now at a stage where he can be somewhat independent. I think the key is practice, practice and more practice. I admit that I worry about them both out on the road. It's not so much that I worry about what they're doing, I worry about what everyone else is doing.

Hi Vicky,

I'm not a parent obviously, but I wanted to share my driving test experience. I got my learners permit when I was 15 without any problems. I didn't take drivers ed, but instead did the other option of doing the 50 hours driving log with my dad.

When I was 16 or 17 my mom decided to report me saying I shouldn't be driving because of my TS. To this day I still don't understand why she did that other than she's mentally ill. With my mom a lot of times that's the answer that explains things. I had to go to my doctor and have him do a whole evaluation, special eye doctor testing, retake the both the written and driving test. I swore they chose the hardest written test for me as it had questions about points, as in how many points are taken off for not having a child in a safety seat, etc. The driving test was weird as the usual driving examiner was there, but they had a replacement for him because supposedly he had broken his leg and couldn't examine the driving part. It would have been interesting to go back in the next day and see if that really was the truth. The day they scheduled me for my exam we were having a bad snow storm. I was probably just about the only one that drove that day, but I did it because I was so nervous already and just needed to get it over with. I passed the driving test without any problems and the replacement examiner asked what I was even there for because I'm such a good driver. I just told her I really didn't know.

I haven't gotten any tickets since starting to drive seven years ago. I have been in one accident, but not tic related. It was like my first month I had lived in the city and had to do with a one way street. My tics are mild so they don't interfere. If they were the severe tics I have up until I was about 13, I think I'd be scared to drive.

Good luck to Scott on his driving test.

Carolyn

sorry i'm just now getting back to this.... its been a crazy past couple of days......... I've seriously considered asking scott what he thought about acupuncture, but decided i should get more info on it first. As far as the driving goes, He hasn't passed the permit test yet. he took it once and missed to many, then i made up a "mock" test and he missed to many. Hes the type that reads stuff once and thats it... he considers that as studying
i guess when he gets desperate enough he'll study the book.

Vicky,

Would Scott be more likely to listen to the drivers manual on tape? I don't know if this is available in all states, but at my school the special education teacher had the drivers manual on tape to listen to and a bunch of practice tests that came with it. This was over five years ago and even in a small school. Maybe you could check with his highschool's special ed teacher to see if they have this or could special order it.

Also state websites commonly have practice tests for the written exam.

Carolyn