A LPN exclusive: LPHS grad overcame challenges of Tourettes
JON HOCHSCHARTNER, Lake Placid News InternArticle Photos
conspicuous disability like Tourettes syndrome.
Graduating Lake Placid High School senior Alex Hall has managed just that by overcoming bullies, academic disadvantage and doubts about his athleticism to be a part of the 2008 graduating class.
Tourettes syndrome is a neuropsychiatric disorder that is genetically inherited. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, sufferers exhibit “both multiple motor tics and one or more vocal tics, at the same time, although not necessarily concurrently.”
Alex’s mother Wendy said her son was diagnosed with Tourettes at age two and a half, and his Saranac Lake-based neurologist classifies his case as “moderate to severe.”
For Alex, sports provide a much needed outlet. He is a very active and successful athlete, particularly on the tennis team, where he has remained the top-ranked singles player at Lake Placid for five years.
“In sports you don’t see the tics [because] the dopamine level has an equilibrium when I’m playing.”
In fact, Alex took himself off his Tourettes-related medication partially because of his love of athletics.
He said no matter what happenned, for him taking the pills didn’t rid him of the syndrome’s effects.
“You can only lessen the effects. There are medications that can control it, but they basically turn you into a vegetable,” he said. “I took myself off the medications because it made me overweight and took me away from sports.”
One aspect of the sports teams that he particularly enjoyed was the unpitying attitude of his coaches.
“They never thought less of me; they always thought I should do better. They never pitied me. They never stared,” he said. [To them] I’m just another player.”
Alex said he had a tougher time with academics, where Tourettes affected his ability to pay attention to what was going on in the classroom.
“I’m focusing on not ticking so much in school. It’s hard to focus on what we’re studying,” he said. “[My teachers] work with me after class so they can help me with stuff I’ve missed because I’ve been distracted in class. They never really get down on me.”
Even so, Alex managed to maintain a near-B average, and he said he is always striving to do better. Perhaps even more difficult than his trouble in the classroom, Alex had to deal with more than his fair share of bullying as a result of
his tics.
During his elementary and middle school years, Alex said he was kicked out of a series of schools for physically confronting those who made fun of his disability. Similarly, in his sophmore year at Lake Placid High School, Alex was involved in a fight regarding the same issue.
“A couple of years back a kid never stopped making fun of me in Lake Placid. I ended up socking him in the face, but it doesn’t really solve anything,” he said. “I went home and was just really depressed and wanted to die. “I’m still self-concious at times, but it used to be a lot worse. I used to be so embarrassed about myself earlier in high school, kids used to make fun of me, but now that I play rugby and stuff, they don’t really mess with me because I’ve packed on a couple pounds of muscle, and they know I’m a cool kid.”
Unfortunately, the cruelty and ignorance regarding his disability did not end simply with his peers. Alex’s mother Wendy said her son had been removed from numerous restaurants, once for being “disruptive.”
“They tried to kick him out because of what they percieved as rowdy behavior,” Wendy Hall said. “But a family friend stood up for him and spoke to the manager.”
Alex was casual about recieving his diploma on Friday, reffering to it as “just a piece of paper.” But he admitted he felt a sense of accomplishment for the difficulties he experiencce during his time at Lake Placid High School.
“Living with a disability forces you to overcome certain obstacles,” Alex said. “It doesn’t really matter what you have, but if you’re willing to show that you can be better than anyone else that doesn’t think you can be, you can prove [those that doubt you] wrong. You can’t let them get to you.”
David Messner, the principal of Lake Placid High School, said he was proud of Alex.
“I have watched Alex grow from an adolescent to a fine young man. I have watched the students here who didn’t know him and initially reacted with some reservations,” Messner said. “But once they got to know him they found out he was a fun guy, and his Tourettes was not viewed as a handicap.”
Wendy Hall struck a similar tone.
“My favorite quote to describe Alex is by Saint Francis of Assisi,” Wendy said.
“‘First you do what is necessary, then you do what is possible, and then you achieve the impossible.’ I believe Alex has done that, with the help of people in Lake Placid. Parents can only do so much. It takes outside people to show an interest.”
Alex said that after college he wants to work building energy-efficient homes and as an animal rehabilitator.
