Tourette’s Syndrome - anyone have any experience of this ??

Corax67

Well-known member
One of my junior beginners has Tourette’s - they are a very good archer and I was wondering if anyone has experience of working with archers who have this condition?
 

Corax67

Well-known member
You are leaving yourself open to some very weird replies to this question my friend. :oops: 😋
Hope not - it’s a junior on a dedicated junior beginners course

They had already been exhibiting OCD traits but as their scores improved then a verbal tic became quite prominent too.

Just wondered if anyone else knew any Tourette’s sufferers or coached archers with complex neurological syndromes
 

Riceburner

Active member
I've never (knowingly) met anyone with genuine Tourettes (but lots of people who just talk that way anyway), so can't really comment, apart from to say that I'd guess the main thing to do would be to just stay calm and understand that nothing (rude) they say is genuinely directed at you.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
It’s not presenting as language - they have a verbal tic, a mix of clicks and whistle plus a physical facial tic
 

ejg1951

New member
Look for advice from a support organisation for Tourette’s sufferers, as there’s a lot of good information out there. Good on you, for giving this person a chance.
 

James36

New member
I had a young archer last year (10 years old) with Tourettes. It took me the whole year to figger out what his problem was as his mother never told me and signed a paper saying there was no medical condition I needed to know about.
His behaviour was erratic, some days he would shoot well and listen (a bit). Other days he was lost in his tics and noises and we spent more time looking for his arrows than shooting them.
I understand that there is medication which helps control the syndrome, so when he was out of balance it was difficult to make any progress at all.
If his condition was more stable and his mother more honest, we could have made a lot more progress because on his good days he was amoungst my best beginners.

My recommendation would be to exchange with the parents as much as possible so you can adjust the work load according to his mood of the day.
The family moved over the summer, but we were seriously considering not taking him again for another year as sometimes his behaviour was unsafe (and his mother was dishonest - albeit this was not his fault!).
 

Corax67

Well-known member
It’s going well so far - we manage the stress/excitement levels as well as performance expectations.

They are turning out to be a very accomplished young archer.
 

Spankey

New member
I have Asperger's and tic a little. My son also has Asperger's and I've learnt that quite often declaring him as 'disabled' is not helpful. He gets removed from the main group and isolated or treated as an idiot, which he's not. He's the brightest kid in his mainstream school, just has a few issues that he has to learn to live with.
 

AGordon

New member
I have Asperger's and tic a little. My son also has Asperger's and I've learnt that quite often declaring him as 'disabled' is not helpful. He gets removed from the main group and isolated or treated as an idiot, which he's not. He's the brightest kid in his mainstream school, just has a few issues that he has to learn to live with.
Any suggestions that would help the original poster (and the rest of us?)
 

KidCurry

Well-known member
AIUK Saviour
I shoot with Tourette Syndrome sufferers and, as a teacher, I've taught TS sufferers. If you are teaching a student with Tourette's you should be aware that OCD and ADHD are common co-occurring conditions with students that suffer TS. Techniques such as lots of breaks with short work bursts help, but this is not so easy to manage in a mixed ability group. It can be done but needs good lesson planning and careful student assessment in advance and may involve different approaches for different students and this can take some work.
There is lots of stuff online but much of it is designed for professional teachers, but there is useful information out there. From what I've seen of coaching recently, I'm not sure AGB really prepares coaches that well.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
I shoot with Tourette Syndrome sufferers and, as a teacher, I've taught TS sufferers. If you are teaching a student with Tourette's you should be aware that OCD and ADHD are common co-occurring conditions with students that suffer TS. Techniques such as lots of breaks with short work bursts help, but this is not so easy to manage in a mixed ability group. It can be done but needs good lesson planning and careful student assessment in advance and may involve different approaches for different students and this can take some work.
There is lots of stuff online but much of it is designed for professional teachers, but there is useful information out there. From what I've seen of coaching recently, I'm not sure AGB really prepares coaches that well.
AGB doesn’t prepare its coaches at all ;)

My TS archer has OCD too but we are coping fine and today they shot another second class score by a decent margin with minor presentation.

Attended an online “integration in sport” workshop advertised by AGB but run by Coaching UK - excellent few hours but the universal response was that the coaches involved have all had to busk it dealing with ‘disabled’ archers and found virtually no assistance forthcoming from HQ.

Such is life - every day should be a learning day anyway
 

dropbear

Member
I have a daughter, son and grandson all with Tourette's although none of them have verbal tics. Only my grandson has done archery and was very good for the short time he did it but unfortunately he lost interest as playing the Xbox was an easier option. However when he did shoot his tics only appeared in between shooting arrows. Like most, if not all tourette affected persons during intense concentration moments(such as shooting in archery, engaged with a ball or tackling an opponent during football/soccer or actively engaged in track and field events tourette symptoms will completely disappear. The moment that their concentration on the task at hand eases the tics (whatever ones they have) will pop up straight away. If they do try to suppress their tics during down times it won't last long and usually sees them having an increased outburst.
That said tourettes comes in various degrees from extremely mild to negativity impacting an affected persons life so what works with one won't necessarily work with another. If the person just has Tourette's on its own they should be able to be taught effectivity without a lot of trouble. Tourette's persons may also have OCD as the two go hand in hand. Also ADHD can also piggy back itself along for the ride too which will affect a persons ability to listen to, and concentrate on their coaches instruction. It's in between ends when most problems will occur and it's almost impossible to keep their minds active during that bit of down time.. That's when they'll seemingly be "off with the fairies"
 
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