THE SHADDOX BOYS

Jacob and Elijah Shaddox are brothers. Jacob is 21 years old and just moved into an apartment with his girlfriend. He graduated from a technical college with an Associate's degree in Computer Maintenance. He works for a school district as a computer technician. Elijah is almost 18 years old. He is hearing impaired, has Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD. He is a junior in high school. Elijah lives with his mom Mary and her wife, his stepmom. Mary has a bachelor's in deaf education and a masters in special education, and is an educational diagnostician. Life is always changing and this blog has chronicled many of these changes and will continue to do so!






Saturday, December 28, 2013

Update on Tics!

Elijah's new tic is still around! He seems to be experiencing a LOT of tics lately, both vocal and motor. He has also been more argumentative with me at home and teachers at school. He has had more issues at school too! We had already increased one of his medications by 0.5 mg in the morning, but I went ahead and called the doctor after another phone call from the school. He is now taking 1.5 mg of this same medication three times a day. Overall, this is an increase of only 1 mg per day. Overall this seems to have helped with his behavior and with tics.

We go back to see this doctor around the middle of January. I am hoping things stay stable between then and now. It is amazing to me how his behavior is tied to his tics, but I know his tics get on his nerves and drive him a little crazy. I know when I have the hiccups for a long period of time, that I am a little snappy with people, so imagine having tics constantly. I also think his tics tend to increase around the holidays, because he is excited about them. He is also out of his routine, which is  never good.

I took him to the movies today and he had several loud tics during the movie. Thankfully, they were spread apart and didn't all happen at once. He does pretty good and I tap his leg so he knows he is being a little loud. Here's hoping these tics calm down for him when we get back into our routine after the holidays!

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