Dear Lucas:

Cerebral Palsy must have had a big part in forming how you view yourself, what you believe about yourself, the very observations you make and the actions and reactions of others to your condition.

I have a neurological condition called Tourette Syndrome. It started when I was very young, maybe five or six. It was a result of a scary childhood but the condition itself caused me a lot of problems. I observed myself, those many tics I was doing and feeling, and I felt like a freak of nature. And then, there were people making fun of me, pointing at me, laughing.

The tics kept happening every day, every night, for as long as I was awake, multiple times per minute, most of the time. I tried to stop the tics and failed. That added greatly to my conviction that I was a failure, incapable, helpless and hopeless.

I still have tics, not as many as before (I think with age there is some lessening in most cases), and I still feel uncomfortable about them. But I am able to continue my seven year old healing process. I don’t think I will ever stop those tics but my quality of  life is way better than it used to be.

I hope this share is helpful to you, let me know if it is…?

anita