Hi
D.P.!! I'm glad you wrote, my new friend -- I always get very excited
to meet new members of the big Tourette Family!! Welcome to the club
bigguy!!
It sounds
like you (just like most people with Tourette -- including me) find
it REALLY EASY to pay attention to computers and computer games even
though you might not be able to pay attention to other things (like
your math teacher!) that well!! There are some good reasons for that..........
Computers
and computer games can be a Touretter's BEST FRIEND! They help us to
pay attention because there is lots going on to KEEP our attention.
-They
show us things in lots of colours and with lots of noises.
-The pictures
and things on the screen are always changing.
-We don't
get bored because the faster our brains run, the faster we can make
the game or program run, or the more things we could be running on the
computer at the same time to jump back and forth on (you might play
one game for 10 minutes, but then jump to another one, and then another
one!).
-If we
do something wrong on the game it lets us know RIGHT AWAY by making
a noise or giving us a message to read. If we do something right on
the game it also lets us know right away. That feels good because lots
of times we get in trouble because we don't KNOW what we are supposed
to be doing, or IF we are doing something wrong. Computers and computer
games keep us on track.
-Also,
once you know how to beat a game level, you can ALWAYS do it because
the rules don't ever change -- you beat the same level the same way
every time. That feels good because lots of times adults and other people
are always changing their rules, or we don't know what their rules are
very well.
For all
these reasons, D.P., you might not tic or act hyper or have a hard time
paying attention or have ANY Tourette symptoms when you are on the computer
because the computer is helping you to use up all that energy that normally
MAKES you tic or get hyper or have a hard time paying attention! That's
why using a computer for doing schoolwork is a really, REALLY good idea!!
The reason
your symptoms might get worse after you are done on the Nintendo is
because suddenly you don't have the computer or game to help you use
up that energy anymore, and so the energy starts going back into symptoms
again. It's kind of like being in a sauna, and then jumping back into
a swimming pool -- the water seems EXTRA cold now because you were so
warm. In the same way your symptoms are EXTRA noticeable after playing
the game because you weren't doing them for awhile.
I hope
this helps explain, D.P., and thanks for writing!
Dr. Dunc.
