It is important for students to understand differences in people, in general, to create a supportive classroom environment for students with TS. Set the tone in your classroom for acceptance of differences. Here are a few activities for your classroom. They may need to be modified based on your students' age group.

Have a discussion with your students about how everyone is alike (for example, everyone has a nose, eyes, two arms, and so forth) and how people are different (for example, some people have green eyes, some wear glasses, and so forth). Then show them a brown egg and a white egg. Discuss the eggs' similarities and differences and list them on the board. Then break the eggs in a bowl and ask if they can tell which was from the brown or white egg. Conclude the discussion that people may look or act differently, but they are similar on the inside. (You could also use a green, brown, and yellow banana for this activity.)

Have a discussion with your students about similarities and differences. Using brightly colored paper cut into strips, have each student write one attribute that makes him or her similar to the other classmates and one attribute that makes him or her different. For example, one student may write that he or she is similar because he or she doesn't like homework, and he or she is different because he or she is allergic to bees. Once everyone has finished, you could go around the room and ask students to share their similarities and differences. Finish the discussion by talking about how similarities and differences make everyone unique and allow each student to bring a new and interesting perspective and personality to your class. Gather the strips of paper and create a chain with them. This chain can be hung in your classroom as a visual representation of how the students' similarities and differences "link" them together.

For a presentation specifically on Tourette Syndrome, ask the students to write down everything they know about TS and what they would like to learn. If they do not know what TS is, have them write down what they think it is. Then gather the papers and ask the children what it means to be different. Write their responses on the board, then discuss how to treat people who have differences and write these responses on the board. Show the video, You've Got a Friend, which specifically explains TS to children. After the video, ask the students to share what they now know about TS and what they had gotten wrong before they watched the video. Do they have any new thoughts on what it means to be different? Any new ideas on how to treat people with differences? Also, you may be interested in The Real World of Tourette Syndrome if your students are older. Remember, for a presentation in the classroom on TS, talk to the student's parents before going ahead.

Give your students a taste of what it feels like to have TS. Ask them to pull a book out of their desks. Explain that you will give them a signal to start reading, but that while they read, every time they hear you clap, they must look up and turn their heads to the right. Give them the signal to begin. Over a 2-minute period, clap randomly many times as the children read, then tell them to stop. Discuss how reading with a tic felt. Was it harder to read? Did anyone feel frustrated? How would they react if they were trying to take a test while experiencing frequent tics?