Spencer Martin aged 13 and 3/4

Posted Wed 23rd Nov 2016 at 11:48
by Spencer Martin

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13 year old Spencer talks about being a teenager with TS and how proud he is of his inspirational mum.

My name is Spencer, aged 13 3/4, I was diagnosed with Tourette’s at the age of 10, but remember ticcing from very early on, my parents say from age 5!

My mum asked me to write this blog and write how I cope, deal and live with having Tourette’s and being a teenager attending secondary school. What can I say, I know no different. Sometimes it makes me sad, I know it makes my mum and dad sad sometimes, especially on the bad days but I think they’re just scared. My mum tries to take on the world, I keep telling her that she can’t, but she likes a challenge! I sometimes feel why me, but if it wasn’t me it would be someone else. I am very lucky to have a supportive family and not everyone has that, so if I didn’t have Tourette’s It might mean someone with no one to support them would have it and that would be horrible.

I manage to supress my tics in school, I’m not truly sure how I do this but I do? I sometimes let them out if I feel comfortable but then I’m faced with questions like ‘what you doing that for’ or ‘stop doing that its annoying’.

I have found secondary school much easier than primary but I’m not sure why? Maybe it’s because there are more people around or because people have other things to talk about or simply because I have learnt to suppress them more. Who knows, but I’m getting on with it and now in year 9.

I’m not in top set in my lessons but I’m not in the bottom, my parents always say do your best, that’s all they ask and that’s what I’m doing. I get easily distracted, I sometimes don’t listen, but if only the teachers knew that I’m holding in my tics so I don’t disrupt their class. Sometimes I’d love to tickle them with a feather and tell them not to laugh, only then they would know how hard it is to hold back a tic!

Dare I say it – I’m getting through puberty as well! The doctors have said that puberty is a big milestone for someone with Tourette Syndrome, they have said the tics could go or even get worse! I live with Tourette’s waxing and waning so for me this is the same – do they even really know what is going to happen? Honestly none of us do – like my mum says we have to take each day as it comes, so that’s what I do.

I also suffer with anxiety, I think this is worse than Tourette’s as it can stop me from doing a lot of things such as going out with my friends. I’m not good with big crowds, so going out with a crowd of friends is quite daunting, but then listening to my parents talking about not going out can be worse, but most of the time they are right and most of the time it’s never as bad as I imagine and I have a laugh and enjoy it. But it is still a challenge to actually just do it and now its winter as I have the perfect excuse – It’s too dark and cold!

So my mum has decided to run the London Marathon for Tourette’s Action – how awesome is she! Her way of dealing with it I think, she wants to spread awareness, change society, her way of taking on the world. I love her enthusiasm and her positivity, and sometimes even her mood waxes and wanes! Like I say we are all dealing with something. But I love running with her, we noticed that I don’t tic when I run and I love the Park Runs, they have really helped me.
So…I cope and deal with Tourette’s, but doesn’t everybody have something to deal with?

But let’s not cope lets live!

Spencer Martin aged 13 ¾

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