Why does Ryan Hall blink like that?

I coached a kid at rugby who blinked all the time
and sure enough Tourettes

Most Tourettes is rather small, a facial tick, maybe light random humming. The whole swearing profusely thing is blown way out of porportion, and is but a very small fraction of the people dealing with this condition.
 
Well he sure does well enough w/ it.
 
I once read an ESPN story on a NBA player (his name escapes me at the moment) who had/has tourettes. He would stay in the gym for several hours shooting the same shot, not shooting to necessarily make the shots, but just shooting it until the ball "felt right" leaving his fingertips. Regardless of the motive, that would have to make his shot fantastic.

I wonder if Ryan Hall has a similar desire for the "feel" of a technique?
 
I once read an ESPN story on a NBA player (his name escapes me at the moment) who had/has tourettes. He would stay in the gym for several hours shooting the same shot, not shooting to necessarily make the shots, but just shooting it until the ball "felt right" leaving his fingertips. Regardless of the motive, that would have to make his shot fantastic.

I wonder if Ryan Hall has a similar desire for the "feel" of a technique?

I am not sure but I did a little researching.
My son has it too and in school he has certain subjects he is great at and others he sucks at right now. I dont know but that just sounds like a normal kid.

As far as athletics he is new to sports taking football his 7th grade year and doing football and wrestling his 8th grade year. I would say he is doing "well" for the amount of time training but I would not call him a phenom by any means. He started in football both 7th and 8th grade and took on a new position his 8th grade year, Offensive guard, which required him to learn blocking assignments and be more focused on the plays, where as a defensive end/tackle he could freelance a little more.

In wrestling I would say he was above average since he had a pretty good record. Is that because of focus, size or something else? I dont know.


Here is some info I found online, I am not sure if this is relevant with everyone though.

Society and culture
Main article: Sociological and cultural aspects of Tourette syndrome
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) circa 1772. Johnson had Tourette syndrome.

Not everyone with Tourette's wants treatment or a "cure", especially if that means they may "lose" something else in the process.[86][87] Some people believe that there may be latent advantages associated with genetic vulnerability to the syndrome.[87] There is evidence to support the clinical lore that children with "TS-only" (Tourette's in the absence of comorbid conditions) are unusually gifted: neuropsychological studies have identified advantages in children with TS-only.[30][88] One study found that children with TS-only are faster than the average for their age group on timed motor coordination.[89]

Notable individuals with Tourette syndrome are found in all walks of life, including musicians, athletes and authors. The best-known example of a person who may have used obsessive–compulsive traits to advantage is Dr Samuel Johnson, the 18th-century English man of letters, who had Tourette syndrome as clearly evidenced by the writings of James Boswell.[90][91] Johnson wrote A Dictionary of the English Language in 1747, and was a prolific writer, poet, and critic.

Although it has been speculated that Mozart had Tourette's,[92][93] no Tourette's expert or organization has presented credible evidence to show that this was the case,[93] and there are problems with the available data.[94]

The entertainment industry often depicts those with Tourette syndrome as social misfits whose only tic is coprolalia, which has furthered stigmatization and the public's misunderstanding of those with Tourette's.[95] The coprolalic symptoms of Tourette's are also fodder for radio and television talk shows in the US[96] and in the British media.[97]


Advantages associated with Tourette syndrome - FAQ and Tourette's Quotable Quotes - TS Resources - Tourette Syndrome Message Boards - Message Board Yuku



Research supports advantages associated with Tourette syndrome.

A study of 11 adults with TS found that they could visually bisect a line more accurately than control subjects (have a ticcer hang all your pictures quickly without a tape measure).

A study of eight children with Tourette syndrome found they were much quicker at certain mental grammar skills than children without TS. The underlying brain differences that lead to tics may also lead to "other rapid behaviors, including the cognitive processing of rule-governed forms in language and other types of procedural knowledge". Michael Ullman, PhD, said, "These children were particularly fast, as well as largely accurate, in certain language tasks. This tells us that their cognitive processing may be altered in ways we have only begun to explore, and moreover in a manner that may provide them with performance that is actually enhanced compared [to] that of typically-developing children". Six of the eight children studied had "TS-only"; two of the eight had ADHD, one of whom also had OCD.

Martha Denckla, MD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reports that there is evidence supporting the clinical folklore that children with "TS-only" (40% of children with TS, according to Denckla) have unusual gifts; neuropsychological studies reveal advantages in children with TS-only. A study of full-scale IQ showed that children with TS-only had higher IQ scores than predicted by statistical models, relative to their parents' intelligence. She says, "there is reason to give some credence to common clinical lore, namely, that these children are unusually intellectually gifted youngsters who show no cognitive deficits." She also reported that none of the children with pure Tourette syndrome (TS without co-occurring conditions) had learning disabilities.

Another study of motor function found that 76% of children with TS-only were faster than average on timed motor coordination; similar results were not found among children with TS with co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

A controlled study of 13 people with TS found that cognitive control was enhanced in people with Tourette's (without ADHD) because a lifetime of suppressing tics results in more efficient control of inhibitions. A follow-up study confirmed the result that individuals with Tourette's exhibit greater cognitive control than age-matched subjects. The enhanced cognitive control in the TS group was found in spite of there being a statistically-significant slight advantage in the average IQ of the age-matched controls. Subjects with ADHD were excluded from the sample and controls were also screened to eliminate ADHD.

When ADHD co-occurs with TS, social, behavioral and academic difficulties may be present. Many studies have shown that behavioral disturbances seen in TS are actually caused by co-occurring ADHD and not the TS itself, and that learning disabilities may be secondary to ADHD as well. Denckla argues that there is a case for categorizing "pure TS" separately from "TS plus ADHD" and that "it is important to inform the parents of [children with pure Tourette syndrome], who comprise 40% of all children with Tourette syndrome, that their future is not burdened with the same issues as those of the remaining 60% of children who have comorbid ADHD with Tourette syndrome." She also says that treatment for TS plus ADHD need not differ from treatment for ADHD alone.

I am not sure what all this means, its really odd, he has a D in math because he likes to bring books to class and reads instead of doing math..LOL. the teacher has taken SEVERAL books away this year.

Yet he recently did a test for middle school and he got the highest score that his middle school ever recorded. I am not sure what the VA version is but in Florida its like the FCAT.
 
I once read an ESPN story on a NBA player (his name escapes me at the moment) who had/has tourettes. He would stay in the gym for several hours shooting the same shot, not shooting to necessarily make the shots, but just shooting it until the ball "felt right" leaving his fingertips. Regardless of the motive, that would have to make his shot fantastic.

I wonder if Ryan Hall has a similar desire for the "feel" of a technique?

Mahmoud Abdul Rauf is the basketball player you're thinking of.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: A Portrait of Perfection | Bleacher Report
 
When I was in high school I thought tourettes was the same as turrets...then my english teacher explained that I was a retard. I hat you miss E :(
 
TS....

1. educate yourself
2. go play in NYC traffic (I recommend 2nd ave)
 
Is this really a thread? And why is it here??

TS- get outside more often. Sign off of sherdog and meet people.
 
I once read an ESPN story on a NBA player (his name escapes me at the moment) who had/has tourettes. He would stay in the gym for several hours shooting the same shot, not shooting to necessarily make the shots, but just shooting it until the ball "felt right" leaving his fingertips. Regardless of the motive, that would have to make his shot fantastic.

I wonder if Ryan Hall has a similar desire for the "feel" of a technique?

That was Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. I forget his given name, I think it was Chris Jackson and he played for LSU I believe and then the Denver Nuggets amongst other NBA teams. I remember that article (pretty sure it was Sports Illustrated, not ESPN) and I distinctly remember that part you mentioned about how he would stay in the gym until the shot felt right. he would shoot for hours and hours. Sometimes he would cry because he was so helpless to his sickness, he just had to keep shooting that ball even if he wanted to leave.

He ended up being one of the better free throw shooters in the NBA.

He would also touch the coils of his electric stove as they heated up, just because he felt compelled to do it.
 
Its toe dust that sprinkles in his eye when he goes inverted.
 
Back
Top