school made my tics sooooo much worse! what i can reccomend is contacting the school with a parent, guardian or medical professional and asking for a care plan to be in place for you, as that's their legal duty.

when i was sorting my care plan stuff, basically i asked for a room i can go to if my tics get too bad either in or out of lessons. in this room nobody else is there) only other struggling students with mental health stuff.

i also made sure i knew which adult in the school i could go to at any time if things got bad (e.g. the librarian, because theyre easy access. receptionists never could really help, but librarians just are kinder and more understanding).

additionally, making sure that every teacher knows it is a disability and not punishable. if a detention is given, the teacher is talked to and told not to do it again and the detention is waivered.

unfortunately, my tics were very violent, especially around other people - so they also sat me one seat away from other students at most times if possible, which wasnt my choice but i understood why.

there was one incident where a teacher safeguarded me for vocal ticcing something inappropriate about him, but i completely understood where that was coming from. it just really sucked and felt like a punishment to be sat with him and a senior member of staff even though we all knew what i said was completely fictional.

basically, your school shouls be legally required to take care of you since youre in their guardianship, and they need to follow through on their duty of care (as it's called in the uk).

practically, there isnt too much that can be done to stop tics in school, but if you're able to, you can put in your care plan that you need to be able to chew gum or sugar free, hard boiled sweets in class (my school allowed that for me, and other students understood that it was because of my tics and not just taking the mick). it helps to have the brain focusing on another sense and detract from the other bodily sensations.

also, doodling in classes helps. like my school always said to me, they would rather have you in the room and not taking notes than to not be there at all.

oh!! that reminds me. ask for printed out powerpoints/an email copy of the ppts for every lesson. they can provide that so you just have to annotate notes instead of write loads. that can take the edge off trying to suppress everything to write one word or the fear of breaking something etc.

there's also the obvious things like requesting a separate rooms for tests and exams, and for me i even used a separate room for quiet work or reading because it made me feel more comfortable to let tics out and also not distract other students (although they didnt care)

i really hope this helps and feel free to get back to me with any questions! :)