Hi Friends and Family - I just wanted to take the time to give you a little update on Jaylen. Many of you are wondering why he isn't making videos and blogging as much lately.

Jaylens tic monsters are going at it quite strongly.  We are  pretty sure its from the excitement. With school starting back and his birthday happening this year while he was in school, the tics will rise.  His dad and I took him McDonald's for lunch and cupcakes for the class on his birthday and he was just overjoyed. He got the hamster he always wanted. Such a simple child...my Jaylen.  Very bright indeed, but so grateful for even the smallest of things. He's very easy to please.

 He's been experiencing a tic lately that encompasses several complex tics at once. He is inhaling and sucking his air in so far that his chest is bowing up and his arms are flared out, a couple of arm pumps, the eyes squeeze in tight for a real hard eye blink, the head jerks back, and the muscles on his backside and his legs each go out to the sides in a different direction, and then the back muscles tighten and become very rigid. It's quite a tic and stops him in his tracks. It is multiple flowing and I feel awful for him. He states it isn't happening so much at school (except in the bathroom), but it is abundant at home. I'm thinking he might be coming of the age to where he can supress them for a very short time. I hear as they get older, they can supress them for longer periods of time.

 We do always like to share with you the different stages of this syndrome as we live it, so I will try to get some video of him for you soon. We do appreciate all of your patience and understanding at this time. When his tics wax up, it usually takes a couple of weeks for them to wane down.

 He's been wanting to post pictures of his hamster (he named Phillip) for you all to see; however, with his tics, its been taking him most of the night to complete his homework, eat dinner, bathe, read your posts and emails, and off to bed.  I will try to post them here for you today as we did already take some pictures.

Thank you for your understanding and Jaylen IS READING your posts and birthday wishes and he is very thankful to ALL of you. We are looking at Jaylen and an actor to make a commercial in 2 weeks to spread the message about disabilities and bullying...what a great time to do it...when people can actually see his tics in wax mode. It will indeed serve its purpose.

Thank you and we'll get a post or video from him in the next day or two as we have a long weekend.

Mrs. Arnold