- Broussard family with son diagnosed with Tourette syndrome aims to educate others
- Retired LPSS educators could see large increase in health insurance premiums
- 19th-Ranked Cajuns Surge to the Finish Line Against Nicholls
- Ashanti and Nelly are engaged and expecting their first child together
- Criminal history of suspect in Lafayette triple homicide dates back to 2018
Broussard family with son diagnosed with Tourette syndrome aims to educate others
3
(KLFY)-- A Broussard family with a son diagnosed with Tourette syndrome took their fight for awareness to Washington D.C.
The parents are junior youth and young ambassadors for the Tourette Association of America.
The trio shared their story to bring education and normalize all the misunderstandings of Tourette syndrome.
Rena and Maggie Lassalle, and their son Liam are dedicated to helping people understand.
"Tourette's is so misunderstood," Maggie Lassalle said. "Many people think it's just cursing and swearing. It's kind of what TV promotes but it's much more than that."
There are the tics.
"It can be things such as eye blinking, twitching, noise making and throat clearing,"
There's also the disorder itself. Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder.
"Where there are signals misfiring either they are firing too much or too little or at the wrong time with that you have ADD, ADHD, OCD, anxiety depending on which one is triggered you will see an increase in the tics themselves," Maggie Lassalle said.
Their son Liam also went to D.C. Liam did the youth ambassador program and has learned to share his story and advocate for himself and others.
"I would have five hours of homework and five hours of ticking and then going back home doing homework and then having three hours more, then I'm done and its already midnight," Liam said.
Liam also remembers when he went through medication challenges. He said it can be exhausting.
"And then it makes me have a bad day at school where I have to leave school, and I didn't like that," Liam said.
"There isn't a lot out there for the rough beginnings so we are just trying to close the gap and share our story," Rena Lassalle said.