1 and 10 children per 1,000 have Tourette Syndrome

I just finished watching the movie Phoebe in Wonderland (2008). In my personal opinion, Elle Fanning did an excelllent job  conveying her character and I think we will be seeing a lot more of her in the future (I guess talent just runs in her family). Anyways, the movie shed new light upon the differences "between the growing pains of a gifted child and the possibility of more serious mental illness"(Troubled Girl Acts Out: Curiouser and Curiouser Written By Stephen Holden Published: March 6, 2009 in The New York Times retrieved 15 May 2011 from website: http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/movies/06phoe.html).  I think that it was pretty awesome that Daniel Barnz shed some media light on families that have to struggle with identifing their child with a mental disorder and I just wanted to share the movie with anyone intrested in watching it.

Please take the time to watch Phoebe in Wonderland (2008) via the Hulu Movie Channel
(Written & Directed by: Daniel Barnz - Starring: Elle Fanning, Patricia Clarkson and Felicity Huffman)

My Forethoughts:

There are many, many mental illnesses that are onset in childhood that include but are not limited to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and tourettes syndrome. I know several adults in my life that are affected by these illnesses and it makes life extremely difficult for them to cope with sometimes. If an adult has to struggle with getting through the day when managing the same illness a child could be diagnosed with, how do you suppose a child feels when going to school or even on the playground surrounded by peers? Please, don't be the parent that shuns proper medical attention because you feel guilty or feel that you can change it by simply giving the child more attention (I know I have been there myself). Doctors go to school for years and gain experience in the field they are practicing in before they are allowed to actually practice, they wouldn't suggest putting your child on a lifetime of medication if the risks out-weighed the benefits. If you feel that your doctor is wrong, get a second opinion from another doctor (and even a third or fourth) and plan an alternative route that keeps your child’s overall safety and well-being at the heart of the affair (with an experienced child physiatrist or similar team of specialists); don’t just ignore the problem by trying to rationalize it or minimize it because in the long-run it is your child that will suffer.