Erica, 14, and her sister Shareen, 18, live with their grandparents. Erica, who has Tourette's syndrome, sleeps in the family room and would love to renovate it into a "real bedroom" of her own.

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THE WISH: CARPETING, DOOR AND BLINDS TO RENOVATE A BEDROOM

Strength in the face of disability

erica Andrada is like many 14-year-old girls. Her favorite color is purple. She loves to shop for makeup. And she wears her silky auburn hair in a high, bouncy ponytail.

But having Tourette's syndrome sets her apart. The rare brain disorder causes her to jerk and twitch involuntarily, and to utter sounds that turn heads and make her the subject of sometimes ruthless teasing. There is no cure for the syndrome, and treatment has been unsuccessful for Erica, who has endured years of changing medications, dreadful side effects, sleepless nights and frustration beyond what most adults could imagine.

This fall, when she started her freshman year at Branham High School in San Jose, Erica stood up in front of her peers in each of her classes to explain the disease and her symptoms. It's something the bright, articulate girl is used to doing with strangers. Her grandparents, Steve and Delores Andrada, and her 18-year-old sister, Shareen, marvel at Erica's strength and bravery. They have been a tight-knit family since Erica and Shareen were babies and their birth parents were unable to care for them. The Andradas' grown son also lives with them in a cramped three-bedroom home.

Because of Erica's symptoms, it is hard for anyone to have peace and quiet.

``If I'm having a bad night there's no place for me to go,'' she says. ``I need a place where I can just move around and make whatever noise I need to.'' People affected with Tourette's syndrome describe their impulses as similar to the need to sneeze -- it can be subdued for only so long, then it finally comes out, no matter what you do. Erica worries that her outbursts disturb her family and keep them awake at night. Sometimes, she says, it takes her four hours to stop jerking and fall asleep.

Erica would love to have a ``real bedroom'' of her own, which would mean converting the family room where she currently sleeps into an insulated, carpeted room ($250) (7A) with a new door ($100) (7B) and blinds ($45) (7C) for the windows. A modest budget for some frills ($75) (7D) would give Erica a chance to put her stamp on the place. If they could do the work themselves, they would, says Delores, 68, but both she and her husband, 76, have health problems that make that impossible.

A renovated room also would provide Erica with the privacy any teen wants to get dressed, listen to music or just hang out with friends. Erica loves country, R&B and rap. One day, she hopes to become a choreographer.

Beyond a private space, Erica has another wish -- that people would learn about Tourette's syndrome.

``Don't just stare at me,'' she says. ``If you're worried, come up and ask me if I'm OK. I'd much rather people ask me questions.''