Peoples attitudes towards people with Tourettes.

[tourettesisshit]

Tourettes is fucking shit. It’s the only disability that its okay to make jokes about. It’s fucking awful though. Why would you ever make a joke about it. Why would you laugh at us. It’s a fucking horrendous disability. You wouldn’t laugh at someone who uses a wheelchair, yet some people need wheelchairs because of their tourettes. You wouldn’t laugh at someone with Parkinson’s who has uncontrollable movements, so why do you laugh at us, we have involuntary and uncontrollable movements too. These are just a few examples.

We cannot help our uncontrollable and involuntary movements and sounds. Yes it may be a bit annoying at times for you. But don’t you think that it’s infinitely more annoying and inconvenient for us all the time. Yes we tic the odd amusing thing but that doesn’t make up for all the hurt and distress caused by the tics and by people who don’t even try and understand. I know sometimes tics can cause hurt to some people in public due to what we tic. But we cannot control it, okay some can suppress for various lengths of time but it hurts a lot and causes us to tire and get headaches, but just because can some can suppress doesn’t mean we should, just because it makes it easier for those who don’t have tourettes.

It’s a DISABILITY. You wouldn’t ask someone who uses a wheelchair to walk up some stairs because the ramp takes longer or if there’s no ramp.
It’s the same thing.

I see jokes about tourettes on the internet everywhere. Often on here too. But there’s next to no jokes about other disabilities. And if there was they’d get shouted down immediately. Tourettes though is apparently fair game. It’s one of the most unacceptable disabilities out there. Just because some of us swear and say rude things, and all of us make unusual movements and sounds.

I’m sick of all the jokes and stares and funny looks and comments. From neurologists (who should be experts) and from the public.

If this post makes you think even just once about tourettes and it’s impact on those who have it and the impact of some of the public on those who have it, I’ll be happy.

Its a disability, don’t forget that.

💐

I agree, it's absolutely awful.
As a wheelchair/ walker user though I can say that people do actually make jokes and discriminatory comments about it and frequently get very huffy when asked to provide ramps etc, I think it's a case of you notice what's relevant to you

It’s a terrible illness and very misunderstood.

DD’s friend has developed lots of tics and it may be Tourette’s,

My DD is 14 and was recently diagnosed with TS. She's off school anyway as she's likely ASD so we're going through all sorts to get her a schooling environment she can manage, without having to be in a room that causes overwhelming, u controllable tics and self harm ... she's really scared people will mock her tics too when she goes back as she's less able to control than before when she was literally a shell
Of a child. Thankfully we've come a long way this year but it's been tough! The bloody last thing I want is her being bullied foe her tics

Yeah true. Sorry I wasn’t trying to make it seem like people who use wheelchairs don’t get similar. But I do feel like it’s a lot more acceptable for people to joke about tourettes. Sorry I’m not the best at getting my point across.

I think you're absolutely right, I know quite a few people who have tourettes and there's a very fine balance between laughing with someone and just laughing at them. Everyone is different and the people I happen to know with it have really funny senses of humour and play it off really well and I think at times people mistake their way of dealing with it as 'fair game' to make jokes back or even worse try to provoke tics not understanding why that would be deeply uncomfortable for the person with tourettes which is really unfair.

You are right. I notice OCD is often joked about too (often found with TS). It’s crap and I’m sorry that this happens to you.

I’m autistic which complicates matters significantly. I coped through school, albeit badly, self harming, skipping class, getting badly bullied. I hope your dd has a better experience. I wasn’t diagnosed, people just assumed I was being disruptive deliberately. Was fucking awful.

My daughter is autistic and people have laughed at her

Just to say, OP, if you haven't already discovered it, there is a Neurodiverse Mumsnetters board where you would be made very welcome

I think it's so difficult for people to understand particularly if the tic is shouting and sweating while offending people.

I've never laughed at someone with Tourette's, just like I wouldn't laugh at someone with cancer.

YANBU OP.

I get riled with the amount of autism-related ableism on here and IRL but I think Tourette’s is understood even less.

jokes are completely unacceptable but too many people are too stupid to understand that.

it’s shit. Really, really shit.

OP I was literally thinking of making a post about this earlier but didnt have the guts to do it, and everything you have said is exactly what I would've said too. I get so many people staring at me, I'm treated differently by some people at work, they look down at me and expect very little of me as if they think I couldn't possibly good at anything. Friends have overheard people talking about me saying I'm weird. I don't understand it. I can just about understand kids asking questions (and adults explaining to them and teaching them not to stare/be rude) but grown adults making fun of and treating other adults badly I just don't get it.

I actually appreciate people asking me questions about my tics because it shows they wish to understand more. And I appreciate the people who accept me regardless of my tics because it shows they'll accept people for who they are. It's the ones who judge who have a problem but they'll never see it that way which is frustrating.

I remember once sitting in a restaurant looking around thinking wow... how much easier this experience would be for me if I could just enjoy it like everyone else without having to tic every five seconds.

for you OP. I understand, I really, really do xx

There's a man with Tourettes that works in our local supermarket. When you say it's wrong for peoole to stare, I think that unfair because when he starts shouting, etc, it's a shock to the system when your mind's poring over the chilled goods. And you do automatically look round and narrow down who it is, just for your own peace of mind that you're not in jeopardy. It all takes a while to sink in that everything's ok and you can carry on. So people do stare but they very quickly get on with their own stuff. I've never seen anyone laugh or call out comments.

It must be the day for it.🙁I have just been shopping, a man was helping his elderly mother try on some coats. She appeared to have Alzheimer's and made a few loud noises. 2 well dressed women passed and said loudly 'there are some wierdo's about'. I did call it out but the amount of awful and blatant shaming, discrimination of people with various disabilities is shocking.
OP 💐Tourette's must be exhausting, I feel for you.

Your right that peoole shouldnt be lsughing at people with Tourettes ,but people do make jokes out of other disabillities too ,my son has severe autism and learning disabillities ,hes non verbal but shouts loudly and frequently its not something he can help ,but we do get ignorant comments

💐❤

Yeah, I don’t mind, actually I’d encourage, people asking questions. It would encourage understanding, well at least I hope it would.

I get you, I can look around and think it’d be so much easier for me if I didn’t shout random crap and make weird movements every couple seconds. I was once in a garden centre cafe and shouted fucking pineapples, like where does that even come from. I get people don’t get it, I don’t get it either, but that’s no excuse for making our lives more difficult.

Sorry if I made it seem like I was saying that people don’t joke about other disabilities, as that’s not what I was saying, at least I was trying not to say that. I just meant it’s more acceptable to joke about tourettes than other disabilities.

Thank you. I tried the old mumsnetters with sn board and posted a couple times but didn’t get anything back regarding tourettes so gave up. I am autistic and adhd too though, so maybe I’ll try again.

My 10 year old daughter ran home from the park because a group of mums had a go at her for swearing.

Her constant loud repetitive swearing is so obviously not swearing for fun.

People can be cunts.

I've been familiar with Tourettes for a long time having grown up around John who some may be familiar with as the subject of the documentary 'John's not mad' and the follow up documentary years later.

He does really well to raise awareness in our local area and beyond and visits youth groups to explain about Tourettes and its effects on him and other sufferers. One of the things that really stood out for me when I was lucky enough to sit in on one of these talks with my daughter is the pain he is in on a daily basis with the tics causing muscular pain which I hadn't even thought of before even though I've known him for years.

Those mums were massive cunts. I am so glad that Idid not have significant coprolalia till I was an adult. That must be fucking awful to deal with as a kid.

It's hard for everyone no matter what age. To be fair CBD oil helped her massively so this isn't a feature any more (or, at the moment anyway).