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New Camp Allows Kids with Tourette to Let Loose
There aren’t many places where a 12-year-old kid can bark or twitch in public without getting serious flak from her peers. But children with the neurological disorder Tourette syndrome–commonly misunderstood as a cursing problem–can’t control all the noises and tics that they make.
So a new weeklong summer camp lets kids with Tourette enjoy all the usual camp activities–swimming, art, sports–without having to explain themselves or worry about being ridiculed for their tics or noises. Since only three in about every thousand children are born with Tourette syndrome, many campers at Twist and Shout have never met another child with the disorder before.
35-year-old founder Brad Cohen remembers all too well getting teased or punished for his uncontrollable squealing. Ever since a kind principal asked him if he wanted to explain what Tourette syndrome is to his school, Cohen has been dedicated to educating people about the disorder. In addition to directing Camp Twist and Shout, Cohen is an elementary-school teacher and the author of a book on Tourette syndrome.
Since Cohen still has a barking tic, he is a living example to his students and campers of the fact that Tourette syndrome need not disrupt your life. And spending a week around kids all dealing with the same issue helps to normalize the disorder in some kids’ minds. According to a teenaged camper named Kevin, the kids quickly become immune to the noises and tics around them. “It’s just kind of like you’re listening to music, and you hear something in the background and you don’t really hear it,” he said.
In fact, a guiding principle of Camp Twist and Shout is that for once kids don’t have to talk about their disorder; they just get to enjoy themselves. According to Cohen, “This is not therapy; this is not school.”
Photo: karenimages.com, via CNN
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4 Comments
aly commented on Jul 28 09 at 4:03 pmI believe it is actually called Camp Twitch and Shout.
hannahtm commented on Jul 28 09 at 4:12 pmDoh! Thanks, Aly. You’re right–the camp is called Twitch and Shout.
leahsmom commented on Jul 29 09 at 9:05 amI think this a great idea – if you live with a chronic illness, and you live among people who don’t have one, especially as a kid, it can feel very alienating. As a child, I always felt different and weird – and given medical technology when I was little, all the other kids in my school knew about my condition, found it disruptive (I got extra attention from teachers, et c.) – and often avoided me. I went to a summer camp for kids with juvenile diabetes when I was 6 – and it was the first time I could leave a soccer game in the middle to treat my blood sugar, without having to explain why, and without feeling like the other kids were watching me. I still remember how relieving that felt!
alexandra commented on Nov 29 09 at 12:42 pmhehe..yea, it’s camp Twitch and Shout!!
I was a camper this past summer!! best week of my life!!
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