Teen and Dog’s TikTok Creates Awareness for Tourette Syndrome

• 16-year-old Shane Koch was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome when he was 8.
• His rescued dog Callum has helped him manage his syndrome and they have a TikTok account that raises awareness for Tourette Syndrome.
• “Callum the Ridgy” account now has 1.4 million followers. 

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Tourette Syndrome is a disorder that makes uncontrollable repetitive movement and sound (tics).  Its cause is unknown and may be a combination of environmental and genetic factors.

16-year-old Shane Koch has been struggling with the syndrome since he was diagnosed at 8.

@callumtheridgy

A hurricane is coming! ???? ##UmbrellaChallenge ##ChiliDogYum ♬ original sound – Callum The Ridgy

Due to the syndrome, “I got made fun of by teachers and students, sometimes I would get in trouble for them,” Shane explained.

But when his family adopted a rescue dog, things started to change.

Rhodesian ridgeback mix, Callum, was not trained as a therapy dog but he instinctively knows what to do when Shane shows symptoms and can even stop the tics from happening.

Shane said, “He notices when I do the tics, he’ll nudge me. He can literally sense when I do those tics and as I feel it coming, and a lot of that stress will go away.”  This allows Shane and his family to manage his symptoms. 

With this knowledge, he decided to start a TikTok account and share it to raise awareness about Tourette’s syndrome and show how Callum has helped him manage it.

His positive messages on “Callum the Ridgy” account on how it is dealing with Tourette and how it affected his being able to fit or not has already reached 1.4 million followers.

Shane said, “I created the page to show awareness, to show that you are not different nor normal, and it’s better to be weird than normal.”

They have become TikTok sensations that have influenced other people who feel “different” to learn to accept themselves and for others to accept them.  Each “Callum the Ridgy” video is now viewed a thousand times.   

“Callum the Ridgy” videos have now shown a light on people who have Tourette’s, how to deal with it, and reminds us not to judge anyone as their behavior may be beyond their control. And that rescue dogs may bring the change you need. 

Source: Inspire More