TS Awareness Continues

Continuing with Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month, I posted this on my Facebook page this morning.  

In  Gerry's case, he inherited the condition from me.  Males are also affected 3 to 4 times more than females, so that's two strikes against him right from the get-go.  Back when I was pregnant with him (and, truthfully, right up until he was diagnosed), the thought that I could "pass down" my TS to one or more of my kids had never entered my mind.  I was so used to living with it and my family had never made a big thing of it, that I just never really thought about it.  So much so, that the fact that it can be an inherited condition never occurred to me.  I'm pretty sure his anxiety and OCD tendencies were also passed down from me.

My case is a bit different.  As far as I know, I'm the only one in my family to have it.  Or, at least, to have been formally diagnosed with it.  I don't know the health history on my mom's side, but I'm almost positive that no one on my dad's side has TS.  We spend a lot of time together and in my years I've never noticed anyone ticking or doing anything TS-related.  I have what is called "Sporadic Tourette Syndrome", meaning I didn't inherit it from anyone...there's just a sporadic gene mutation that resulted in my having TS.  Which is kind of neat when you think about it.  

As far as my other kids, I'll be interested to see how it all plays out.  Bailey is almost 10 years old and not displaying any signs or symptoms of TS.  Lincoln just turned 4 and, though I know he's at a higher disadvantage when it comes to inheriting the disorder (being my kid AND a male), he's not showing any signs either at the moment.  It's definitely something I look out for, though, if for no other reason than to make sure I get him the appropriate kinds of help if needed.