ADHD is a chronic and complex neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor tics and/or vocal tics. The clinical symptoms are complex, mainly including motor tics, vocal tics and accompanying psychological and behavioral symptoms, and often have a long duration, fluctuate easily, and have a high recurrence rate, which seriously affects the child’s normal study and life, and brings great worries and concerns to parents. The most common concern for parents is how to help their children get rid of the pain through home care and how to prevent recurrence of the disease.
A. Prevention of Tourette’s syndrome
The prevention of tic disorder is to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of tic disorder, reduce the functional impairment of the child, and improve the quality of learning and life.
1. Active treatment of Tourette’s syndrome.
Parents should realize that Tourette’s syndrome is treatable, and after treatment children with Tourette’s syndrome can live and learn normally. Medication is the basic treatment method, and psychological and behavioral interventions based on medication are the most appropriate treatment options. Some parents worry that medication will affect the child’s “brain development” and that the side effects of medication will affect learning, so they terminate medication on their own, causing recurrent episodes of the disease and affecting the prognosis. Parents must realize that tic disorder is a chronic disease and must adhere to long-term, standardized treatment, follow the doctor’s instructions for regular follow-up, and generally continue to adhere to the medication after the disappearance of symptoms for about six months to a year without relapse, before gradually stopping the medication.
2, reduce external triggering factors.
Some studies have shown that respiratory infections can trigger tics, so it is important to actively improve your child’s immunity and reduce the occurrence of infectious diseases, which can reduce the onset and recurrence of tics.
Some foods containing preservatives, food coloring and additives can induce tics or worsen existing tic symptoms.
If the child is overloaded with learning tasks for a long time, or if he or she is under excessive pressure, or if he or she is exposed to low-frequency radiation appliances such as television or computer games for a long time, or if he or she watches thrilling and scary television or stimulating cartoons, the child may be overstressed or overexcited, which may trigger tics or aggravate the symptoms. Therefore, parents should arrange their children’s daily life and study reasonably, combine work and rest, and avoid excessive excitement and fatigue.
3., Improve family environment and promote psychological coping skills.
The child will encounter various psychological events in the family, school and society that cause tension and anxiety in the child can trigger or aggravate tic symptoms. For example, the family atmosphere is depressing, parents expect too much from their children, and are too harsh and mean to children, using scolding, corporal punishment and other disciplinary methods. Parents should accept the fact that the disease exists, adjust their mindset, improve the family environment, face the disease positively, understand it correctly, and actively cooperate with doctors in treatment.
In addition, the strict requirements of school and the heavy academic load may also make the child feel that he or she is living in a stressful and fearful environment, that he or she is not relaxed, and that he or she is not getting the warmth he or she needs, which may lead to the occurrence, aggravation, or recurrence of tic symptoms. Children with Tourette’s syndrome are often teased by their classmates because of their tic symptoms and show low self-esteem and confidence in front of their classmates.
Parents should educate school teachers about health-related issues related to tics so that they recognize that tics are a neuropsychiatric disorder that requires their cooperation in treatment, rather than a deliberate act of disruption. At the same time, teachers should also provide comfort and guidance to the affected child to improve his or her mood, encourage him or her to build confidence in learning, and help him or her gradually improve his or her symptoms. At the same time, teachers should also educate other students to avoid making fun of or discriminating against the child, so as to create a good environment for the child to be cared for and respected both physically and mentally.
4. Encourage the child to build confidence in overcoming the disease.
Most children can work and live like normal people after adulthood and have no impact on family life. However, there are some children with prolonged symptoms or whose normal life is affected by other psychological disorders associated with TD. According to some research data, about 1/3 of children with tic disorder have their tic symptoms remitted naturally after puberty, 1/3 of patients have their tic symptoms reduced significantly, and the remaining 1/3 have their tic symptoms delayed until adulthood, therefore, it is necessary to maintain an optimistic attitude towards the prognosis of this disease, encourage children to establish confidence in overcoming the disease and actively cooperate with the treatment for early recovery.
The family care of children with Tourette’s syndrome
1. Daily life care.
(1) Reasonable arrangements for the daily life of children with Tourette’s syndrome, daily work and rest time is relatively fixed, to ensure sufficient sleep. The first thing is to develop a good habit of sleeping on time, to sleep in a quiet environment, to reduce noise, to avoid light stimulation, to participate in physical exercise during the day, not to watch TV or computer before bedtime, not to drink tea or coffee before bedtime, not to eat chocolate and other things that excite the brain, to avoid excessive fatigue, tension or excitement of the child to trigger or aggravate the symptoms of tics.
(2) Dietary care: Eat regularly, don’t overeat, picky eaters, and partial eaters. Do not eat things that easily excite the brain such as chocolate, tea, coffee, etc.; do not eat foods containing preservatives, additives, flavorings, such as instant noodles, ham, shrimp fries, potato chips, chicken essence, MSG, and various beverages, etc. Try to eat less spicy, fried, barbecued, greasy food, etc. Suitable foods to eat more: fresh fruits, vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables; foods containing high quality protein: fish, milk, eggs, beef, etc.
(3) Strengthen life care and participate in appropriate physical activities to enhance body resistance and avoid or reduce the occurrence of respiratory tract infections and other diseases. Dressing should be loose, soft, cotton clothes.
(4) Try to reduce your child’s television viewing, especially some horrible and stimulating programs. Avoid playing with computers and cell phones.
2.Psychological care.
(1) Psychological transfer method.
When a child has a twitch attack, do not force it to control, but it is better to use the transfer method. If the twitching is found to be obvious, ask him to do something relaxing. Reduce the tension and anxiety caused by the twitching through purposeful activities of the limbs.
(2) Psychological support method.
Children with tics should be given mental comfort and positive guidance, establish good family relationships, take the initiative to talk to the child, give more comfort, praise and encouragement, and build the child’s confidence to overcome the disease. Give the child more tolerance, do not demand too much from the child, do not exert pressure academically, make friends with the child, take time to take the child to the countryside to play, a change of environment will make the child mentally relaxed, so that the condition will improve over time.
You should also get in touch with the school teacher, who should appropriately reduce the academic burden, encourage the child to participate in normal school studies and extracurricular activities, help the child to improve partnerships; improve the child’s self-esteem, encourage the child to study and live like a normal child, thus eliminating the inferiority complex, which is conducive to alleviating tic symptoms.