Archive for the ‘tourette syndrome’ Category

What made me never give up?

You did! Everybody did! Tourette Syndrome did! As you heard in the movie, I didn’t want Tourette Syndrome to win!  If I allowed it to win, then TS would always win.  For me it was about no excuses!  The first time you start making excuses for yourself, it is very difficult to stop.

There were too many people waiting for me to say I can’t do it because of Tourette Syndrome.  The more times I got rejected and denied a teaching opportunity, the more it made me what to get that job.  I knew I could do it, I just needed to find one person that believed in me too.  By my 25th interview, I had the confidence with my interview skills.  I knew what the principals were going to ask before they even asked it.  My answers were ready to go and I wanted that job.

Many people have obstacles that are placed in front of them throughout their life.  This was a pivotal moment for me.  My mom kept saying “Come back to St. Louis because you know people here.”  My dad said “To go be a substitute teacher and then I would eventually get the job.”  But that’s not what I wanted.  I couldn’t give in.  By my 25th interview I wanted that teaching position so bad. And then it happened where I was finally hired as a 2nd grade teacher.

So, what can I tell others who are looking for a job and have some sort of disability or weakness in life:

1. Don’t give up!
2. Don’t make excuses!
3. Be motivated to prove others wrong when they doubt you!
4. Set high expectations and get to that mark!
5. Keep that positive attitude.  Once it becomes negative, it is hard to go back!
6. If you want something bad enough, sometimes you really have to work hard at getting it!
7. Don’t look for self pity and for other to feel sorry for you.  It won’t get you your job or the goal you have set out for any faster.  Stay strong.
8. Read my book, Front of the Class, or see the movie! (Of course I’m adding this.  My success story is now in book and movie form so I can share my story with others so they can see that if Brad Cohen can do it, then so can they!)

What advice can you give others to help them achieve their goals? Have you struggled to achieve something that took you a while to get?

Bringing All Children Together

This is one of the most frequent questions I have been getting.  I believe that it is never too early to educate others about your disability or weakness you may have in life. 

As you saw in the movie Front of the Class, after I educated the students in Middle School, life started to get better for me.  I soon began telling the same 2 minute speech about how I have Tourette Syndrome on the first day of school in each class I had.  I then did it at big conventions for my youth group, I did it on the first day of camp and much more.  It just began to be part of me and my way of surviving a life with TS.

I’ll never forget that day in Middle School when we educated everyone about TS.  It was like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.  Finally TS wasn’t just my secret, now it was a chance for others to make the decision of how they were going to handle the news.  Were they going to accept me as who I was, or would they make the choice to not be my friend because I was a little different.  Either way was fine with me.  I’ve known what it was like to have no friends.  I’m not sure it could get any worse?

Click here to go to my website author page where you can scroll down towards the bottom and click on the “Listen to Brad Read a Chapter” section. Press play and listen as I read the part in the book where I gt up to educate the students about Tourette Syndrome.

So my advice is to educate people early.  It is never too early to tell others about TS.  Many times other people just don’t know.  So by being up front and honest about living with TS, it helps others understand the issues you are going through.

Don’t be ashamed of TS or the disability.  When your child sees that you are ashamed of it, then they will become upset too.  Try the following to educate others:

1. Books like Front of the Class or Tic Talk– Read the entire book or just pick short passages to share and then discuss how it relates to you.  If it is another issue, find books that talk about your topic.
2. Movies like Front of the Class or the HBO special “I Have Tourette’s But Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me”  These are both great resources to use.  Each has a resource guide to go along with it. There are many movies for many topics available.
3. Comic books about TS.  The TSA of Georgia has them.  Click here to order them from Tricia.
4. A Question and Answer Session with the child and the teacher with the class listening.
5. Disability Awareness Week- Have the child educate others about the issues they deal with everyday and then tell the students how they can help.
6. Do a fundraiser for your charity.  Have education happen along the way.

Many of these ideas could help you educate others who are not aware of your issues.  What other ideas have you used?  What are some ways we can make it easier for children to educate others about Disability Awareness? What is the youngest age you have educated others about your issues?