Browsing by Subject "nykimishäiriö"

The aim of this study was to provide visibility to everyday life challenges caused by the Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome. Through the experiences of the parents of children and adolescents with Tourettes, this research has aimed to examine what kinds of challenges Tourettes causes, how it is recognized within welfare and education, and what kinds of support are available. When compared to other neuropsychiatric disorders, very little re-search on Tourettes exists. Likewise, there is not much literature about Tourettes availa-ble in Finnish, so herein lies a need for a study such as this. Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome is a common neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple motor tics, and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. A symptom called coprolalia, the utterance of obscene words, has made Tourettes, other-wise quite a rare syndrom, famous. Symptoms of Tourettes are usually divided into mo-tor and vocal tics. This research represents a new way to divide its symptoms and high-light its challenges, i.e. internal and external symptoms. The data was collected from Facebook peer-group volunteers by using Helsinki Universi-ty’s e-form. A qualitative study of a total of 23 participants' experiences of the challeng-es of children and adolescents with Tourettes emphasizes multiple symptoms and every-day life challenges. The results indicate that most challenges are caused by internal symptoms, like aggression and tantrums. The frequency of these should be pointed out in literature. Most challenging in schools was the lack of understanding with regards to the involuntary nature of tics, and the demand of authorized diagnoses before granting pupils support for their studies. The Finnish support system is not based on medicaliza-tion, so this aspect is in need of development, since a child who has Tourettes is chal-lenging not only for their parents’ relationship, but also for their own relationship with their siblings. Therefore, more support for the family should be provided.