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Question
95: Dear Dr. Dunc, My 10 yr old son....has just been diagnosed
with TS +associated disorders. Anyway, have you ever heard of a TS
patient who stutters to have improved stuttering by using a speech
easy device? This device is similar to a hearing aid and new to Canada.
Of course the company thinks it would be worth the $200+ assessment
but we would have to also cover expenses to get there etc. I would
pay any amount if it actually would help aleviate [our son's] stuttering
since this is the "tic" which gives him the most "attention".
Have you heard of this? Since TS is caused inside the brain and believed
to be chemical, could a device work? Just wondering.... Thank you,
M.M, ON, Canada.
Hello
M.M.
I'm not familiar with this speech easy device you speak of, unfortunately.
As I'm sure you know though, most stuttering is caused by factors other
than tics (although stuttering tics certainly are often mentioned to
me). Hence this device may be assuming a different cause in its proposed
solution, meaning that this solution might not be a solution that works
when the cause is TS.
While this device could be useful, if I were you I would bear in mind
that tics are exacerbated by stress and by increased attention on that
tic, but can be decreased through relaxation or introducing an incompatible
movement at the moment that the tic wants to express itself (for example
breathing deeply at the moment a vocal tic is about to erupt). If this
device, though likely intended for a different type of problem, will
'follow the right rules' (i.e. do the things that decrease tics and
not create situations that result in increased tics) then you might
want to explore it further.
