Mutual Support for Tourette Parents : Having a child with the neurological disorder can be tough, but a Valley group helps them cope.

Like overwhelmed parents everywhere, they sit around a table and laugh about their children’s latest antics.

But this is no ordinary social get-together. The laughter is only a temporary diversion from the random misfortune that has made these former strangers depend on each other.

Their children have Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder with symptoms that include sudden movements of the head and shoulders, repetitive tapping and drumming and involuntary uttering of socially unacceptable noises and phrases. No cure exists, as researchers have not been able to identify the gene that spreads the disease that claims about 1 million victims nationwide.

But three years ago, a support group was organized in the San Fernando Valley to share the most recent medical information about Tourette, and see how others cope.

“I have found other people who understand,” said Barbara Albin of Woodland Hills, whose son, Seth, 15, was diagnosed with the disease in 1989. “I never had to explain to them what I was talking about. They just knew.”

The Valley group, a branch of the national Tourette Syndrome Assn., meets quarterly at the Medical Center of Tarzana. About 50 parents show up. This summer, they began to meet in small groups at private homes.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about Tourette,” said Dr. David Comings, who works in the department of medical genetics at the City of Hope. “It’s a lot more common than many people think.”

Parents in the support group trade knowledge about teachers and doctors, and suggest ways to deal with their children’s outbursts.

“I found out that Tourette parents should not be a policeman at home,” said Eileen Zaroff, the Valley group’s founder, who had recently returned from a national conference in Chicago. “If the kids are having trouble at school, the last thing they need to hear when they get home is pressure from parents pushing them to get homework done. That will just alienate the child further.”

For many who suffer from the disease, school is the most frightening environment. Parents complain about students who ridicule children with Tourette, and teachers who accuse the youngsters of disobedience.

Doctors, parents contend, can often be just as ignorant about Tourette. For years, Albin said, she knew there was something seriously wrong with her son. At 2, he constantly bounced up and down in place. As the years went on, his ticks and awkward motor reactions grew more frequent. One doctor, she said, counseled her that her son would eventually “grow out of it.” Seth wasn’t formally diagnosed with Tourette until he was 12.

“For one year, I cried,” said Albin. “But it was a relief. At least I knew what was wrong.”

For Sandy Hernandez, the support group is imperative. She has two children with Tourette--Lucy, 10, and Adam, 7. She said they often copy each other’s ticks, but refuses to allow the disease to limit their expectations.

“They can cry about it, get angry about it, and hate it,” said Hernandez of Agoura Hills, “but they have to accept it.”

At 4, her son began to realize the extent of his older sister’s unusual behavior and worried that he, too, would act the same way.

“He said that he didn’t want that to happen to his brain,” Hernandez said, “but, by then, I knew he was already getting it.”

Meeting with other parents keeps her from total despair.

“If I didn’t have the knowledge I do now, my kids wouldn’t be coping as well as they do.”

WHERE TO GO Information: The Valley branch of the Tourette Syndrome Assn. meets quarterly at the Medical Center of Tarzana, and monthly at private homes. For more information, call Eileen Zaroff at (818) 886-6655.