Is staying after school a good idea for students with TS in order to get their homework done before coming home?
TSA Answers: It depends on the individual child. Some students with TS would welcome the opportunity to stay after school in order to complete homework and to receive needed support. For other students it is unreasonable to expect them to lengthen an already difficult day of managing tics and other symptoms. Many students with TS have stated that they see home as home and school as school – and never the twain shall meet. They may benefit from receiving the necessary support as well as to be doing homework in the “school frame of mind” needed to get homework completed. Other students need to get home quickly in order to release some of the tics that they have been attempting to suppress all day. Children generally do not like displaying tics as it makes them “different”, “standout” and can be socially embarrassing. They will use a great deal of energy to “hold them in” during the day frequently at the cost of being unable to focus and pay attention in class. Allowing tics to be express
