Joshua Center University

Understanding Tourette Syndrome and Other Neurological Disorders

Course Summary:

Teaching is both a challenging and rewarding profession. Dedicated teachers, as well as paraprofessionals, counselors and administrators, can truly make a difference in the lives of students. On a daily basis, however, educators face many challenges, and none is more daunting than working with children who have neurological disorders. Fortunately, today there is much more information available on how to help children with these conditions. Yet even with this information, we still don't know for certain what causes the behavior of kids with neurological disorders.

In this course the learner will gain understanding regarding the different types of neurological disorders that impact children. The course will also address the symptoms typical of these conditions, how they impact the child's behavior in the classroom and finally how educators can intervene to make it easier for children to cope and therefore learn with minimal disruption to the classroom.

Time: approximately 30 minutes

Learning Objectives:

* Understand how neurological disorders impact a child's life at school and the impact they can have on the classroom
* Recognize some of the characteristics of Tourette Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
* Identify the "triggers" and "sparks" that can precede an emotional meltdown

Key Topics Include:

* Success Begins with Understanding
* The Known and the Unknown
* Making Distinctions
* Tourette Syndrome
* TS and the Classroom
* Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
* Types of Obsessions
* OCD and the Classroom
* Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
* Categories Within ADHD
* Determining a Diagnosis of ADHD
* ADHD and the Classroom
* When Disorders Cross Over Time: