Trent Miller

Michelle Miller’s son Trent was always an active and energetic boy. But everything changed in middle school When suddenly, Trent’s throat started to make a weird noise. Trent didn’t know what was going on. Neither did anyone else around him. The involuntary noise got louder and then more frequent. Michelle took him out of school to see a doctor where he was diagnosed with tic disorder also known as Tourette’s Syndrome. He tried to hold it in. But all that did was result in a tic attack - - where the body later tries to release the tic all at once. To make matters worse, the first time it happened was when Trent just returned to school. He didn’t last even one period before he burst out of the classroom and into the hallway, where he had an attack for over 15 minutes. Imagine the feeling right before you sneeze - and that pressure building and building and building - That’s what Trent says the tics feel like, only in different parts of the body where the tics occur. The disease symptoms got worse: involuntary blinking, rolling his wrists, grinding his tongue against his teeth. It was not only embarrassing, but painful too. The tics resulted in painful blisters covering his tongue. Trent stopped going out in public. "My life was now MRI scans, doctor appointments, and struggling day after day," Trent said. But Trent was determined to get better. Over time, he learned how to do reversals. Reversals are simple actions that used the Same parts of his body that developed tics, but in a way Where it’s not disruptive or painful. For example, he tamed his vocal tic by holding in air and releasing it when he felt the need to tic. And to prevent himself from grinding his tongue and teeth to the point of pain, he would make a small clicking sound instead. He also gave himself specific reasons to keep going throughout the day - a game, a moment, an activity - anything. And throughout it all, his friends and family continued to support him. “I lucked out, honestly,” he said. “I had friends at the time who defended me when I needed it.” “Once people started to figure it out, they were a lot more accepting.” Others understood that Trent couldn’t help his tics, and that Trent was going through more than they were just hearing some sounds. “I was lucky that I had the friends I had.” Trent’s friends never treated him any differently, “and honestly, that’s all it took.”