Jesse de Jong wants to discover the world, but in his daily life the walls are closing in on him. At the age of sixteen, he was confined to home due to his Tourette’s condition in combination with autism. Jesse therefore has a big dream: a disabled car. “I would really like to go out, just get away from home.”
The teenager from Nieuw-Vossemeer cannot travel by public transport. “We tried, but he arrived at school overstimulated and exhausted. In stressful situations he can even get so stuck in his tics that he can’t breathe and he has to go to the hospital by ambulance,” says mother Suze de Jong.
That’s why Jesse doesn’t go to school now. “We have decided that he will stay at home this year until we find special education that suits him,” Suze explains.
Tourette’s is a neuropsychiatric disorder in which you have no control over sudden sounds and movements. Jesse will soon go to a special clinic in Amsterdam for tic, compulsion and anxiety treatment. “I hope that the tics will become manageable and that I can go back to school. Young people often complain about school while I want nothing more. I really enjoy learning.”
“My buddy rides a scooter but that is out of reach for me.”
Jesse would also like to leave home again without being dependent on his parents. “My buddy rides a scooter but that is out of reach for me.” He is not afraid of having tic attacks behind the wheel: “When I have distractions that require me to concentrate, it doesn’t bother me. I have that experience with swimming, singing and gaming. Even when I’m in the truck with my father, I don’t have tics.”
The intended disabled car costs about ten thousand euros second-hand. Suze: “We are so happy to grant Jesse that freedom. If I could just get that money out of my sleeve, the car would be at my door tomorrow. But we still have two children and life has already become a lot more expensive. Such an expense is really not financially feasible for us.”
I hope that I can finally go out on my own again, even if it is only to get an ice cream in Steenbergen.
Jesse has written to several companies asking if they would like to sponsor him. In addition, he is one in consultation with his parents crowdfunding started. He has now raised almost nine hundred euros. “I hope people will help me. Then I can finally go out independently again, even if it is only to get an ice cream in Steenbergen.”