We had already begun our homeschooling journey when our younger daughter was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Since she was only four years old at the time, I wasn’t all that concerned. She was still in the land of preschool, where other children are blissfully unaware of differences, and where she resided pretty close to me at all times. We were, however, very thankful that we were homeschooling as we approached the time she would begin school.

May I just tell you that homeschooling has not helped our daughter’s disability?

But first, a few details: Tourette Syndrome (TS) means that our daughter has tics. A motor tic can be something as simple as eye blinking, to more complex motions such as needing to touch all four corners of every rectangle seen (which is the tic we are dealing with now). There are also vocal tics ranging from a simple grunting noise to repeating words or phrases. There is no way to tell you how many different tics there are. TS is nothing if not full of imagination.

Homeschooling is not helping her disability…

Having taught in public schools for a decade plus, I am very familiar with the process that we might be going through this year if we were not homeschooling. There would be meetings with teachers before school started to “warn” them of our daughter’s diagnosis. We would need to become friends with the school counselor. There would be 504 accommodations to consider. Perhaps an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) and ARD meetings would be needed. There would probably be a need to educate students and staff about TS. Oh yes, and this would need to all be done again next year. And the next. (Oh dear, what about subs?)

Add to that the fact that her tics change all the time. They will be different this week than last week. They will be different on Wednesday than they were on Tuesday. They might even be different at 10:00 than they were at 9:00. It makes my head spin to think of all the accommodations that would need to be thought up for all these tics.

• The student will need extra time to complete reading assignments so that she can touch all four corners of every page in the book while reading.

• The student will need to be allowed out of her seat to jump at random times.

• The student will need to have a place in the classroom where she can go to make noises and not disturb others.

It makes me tired to think of all the work that would go into making sure our daughter received an education while constantly dealing with these tics.

Homeschooling is not helping her disability… to be the center of attention.

In fact, I would dare say that her TS is getting downright ignored at our house. It simply is not a big deal if she jumps down the hall. Noises? No problem, if you can even hear them over her sister, the TV, the dishwasher, and the phone ringing. Touching the book while the teacher is reading? Her sister and I just wait to turn the page until she is finished.

Homeschooling has taken away a lot of attention from the TS. There is no need to educate those around her—we already know. Accommodations are made on an as needed basis—without any paperwork or meetings. There is more focus on her education than on her disability. Instead of being “the little girl with TS in Miss So-and-So’s class”, she is, quite simply, our daughter. And we teach her and love her here at home. The Tourette’s will just have to take a back seat to that.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. Homeschooling does not make her disability go away. She does still have to deal with her tics on a daily basis, as we are not home all the time. We deal with it everywhere we go whether it’s explaining to the photographer at the portrait studio why she can’t “hold still”, or going to play group, Bible class, or just out to eat. The TS is always along for the ride.

Educating our daughter at home does mean that a great deal of her time is spent in a relaxed environment. For people with TS, that means fewer tics. The more stressful the environment, the more tics they deal with. Or, the more stress they undergo trying to suppress the tics until they get home, at which time they explode in rapid-fire succession from having built up all day. Can you see why homeschool is allowing us to focus on her education instead of her disability?

Sorry, Tourette Syndrome. In a traditional classroom setting, you would be getting far more attention. Around here, we have more important things to think about.

Brenda Ellis has been married for 16 years to her high school sweetheart and they have been blessed with two precious daughters. She used to work full-time, but a few years ago found herself able to become a homemaker. She’s still trying to figure that job out, while learning how to homeschool at the same time. She blogs about it all at The Family Revised.