My F-ing Tourette's Family controversial view?

[LavertyHoldings]

Currently on Channel 4 is a programme about a family where the two young lads have Tourettes Syndrome. Is it just me or does some of their behaviours/ticks appear behavioural and slightly forced, for example the swear words? I know this is a controversial view but i'd be interested to know if any of you Mumsnetters are watching and what your views are?

Only 10% of people with Tourette’s do the swearing thing. My daughter is at school with a child that has Tourettes, she will swear loudly in the middle of class. The girl gets very upset when this happens and is often in tears because of it. This alone leads me to believe it is a real condition rather than put on.
We know a second child with Tourette’s who does not swear but has various vocal & facial tics. This little girls life has pretty much come to a halt due to her extreme anxiety - again this leads me to think it’s a real thing not something she does for attention (which she hates)

I don't think people with Tourettes are faking it, no.

Absolutely don't think they're faking it. I think if you are watching it you can see where i'm coming from? I don't mean to be controversial just wanted to know others opinions.

I'm thinking the same. It seems to flow with conversation, rather than be uncontrollable. I know it's a spectrum and effects people differently but it just seems off to me.

Well you did mean to be controversial. You stated it in your heading.

I really don't think it's for someone who's not a professional to state whether someone they don't know is faking or "playing on" their condition and this thread seems to be mean spirited at best, disablist at worst.

From what I know of the girl my Dd knows that does swear - she has a lot of anxiety around saying the wrong thing & once the wrong thing enters her head she can’t help but say it ( Being in Germany & shouting Hitler is a good example)

That clicking tic the boy just did is very typical & both children I know with the condition do it.

The 13 year old in this show is unable to go out with his mates & probably gets bullied at school, he can’t even walk to school on his own - why would he put that on?

I'm watching again and remember it from the first time it was shown.

My rather controversial opinion is that the eldest boy genuinely has Tourette's. However the younger boy has seen how much attention this gives his older brother and just randomly throws drinks at people and tells his mum to fuck off and then goes aw it's the Tourette's. I don't think there is anything wrong with the younger boy at all.

I also think the parents aren't helping and aren't taking it seriously. The mum just laughs when the younger boy tells her to fuck off or calls her a bitch. Now if he genuinely had Tourette's I'm not saying for a second that she should discipline him but I'm not sure that laughing is the best way to deal with it?

I have no real life experience of Tourette's so could be spouting utter bollocks here but this is just my opinion.

When they were on the boat & the older boy had the string in his mouth I was surprised that their dad kept making him take it out, almost as if he wanted him to start ticking. It seemed like the boy was using it as a coping strategy

I really don't think it's for someone who's not a professional to state whether someone they don't know is faking or "playing on" their condition and this thread seems to be mean spirited at best, disablist at worst.

I'm not a professional at all, i'm also not mean spirited and absolutely not disablist. I have autism myself and i'm very open about speaking about other conditions. This was merely a conversation about a tv programme.

My cousin was diagnosed with Tourette's when he was 9, he was referred on the basis of involuntary muscle movements usually jerking his arms and head to the side.

After his diagnosis he began to throw out random words, usually swearing or insulting people. It transpired this was mainly down to him being egged on to do so by his Mum (bit of a test in lots of aspects) and friends who had informed him that this is how people with Tourette's acted out and he realises he could "get away" with it.

Funnily enough he only shouted out when he was reminded to do it, he stayed with me for 48 hours and didn't verbalise once until his Mum picked him up and asked me infront of him "what's he come out with then?". 5 minutes later he was casually adding "fuckface" and "fanny flaps" into the conversation.

So yes, I think it can be played on and learnt behaviours.

We are sat saying the same thing, it's like a conversation they are having not random ticks, the swearing & things they are saying are in context 🙈

So you absolutely don't think they are faking it . what exactly are you implying ? .

My rather controversial opinion is that the eldest boy genuinely has Tourette's. However the younger boy has seen how much attention this gives his older brother and just randomly throws drinks at people and tells his mum to fuck off and then goes aw it's the Tourette's. I don't think there is anything wrong with the younger boy at all.

This is what I was thinking, but difficult to explain if no one else was watching it. The younger lad is where I had got the impression that the swearing was behavioural.
What i'm not doing is undermining how difficult it must be for the family. It has effected the parents in the way that we would expect it too, and his younger brother may be effected in a different way, such as learnt behaviour.

they often are in context because it’s what they are most anxious about saying in each situation

The older boy is 100% doing classic tics, the clicking & the head going back. If he’s faking he’s done good research

When they were on the boat & the older boy had the string in his mouth I was surprised that their dad kept making him take it out, almost as if he wanted him to start ticking. It seemed like the boy was using it as a coping strategy

I agree, it was if he was trying to physically keep himself from speaking or saying anything whilst in public.

I was watching with DP and we said the same thing I don't think the older one has either, though I switched off after 20 mins.

I was at school with the boy who was featured in Desmond Wilcox's programme about Tourette's. He swore, as well as had ticks. It was extremely difficult for him. He was labelled as a 'bad lad' until that show was aired. None of us had ever heard of the condition before that. He now will go and give talks about it, but it has made his life very difficult.

I have not seen the programme that you refer to, but the swearing is a genuine thing, and I know that it is a horrible thing for the sufferers to endure. I very much doubt if it is forced. Perhaps what you are seeing as 'forcing' the swearing is the struggle they are putting up to try and keep it inside.

MY DC has tourettes. she says F**ing a lot, but mainly its innapropriate and rude words and facial tics and repeated words and phrases. I haven't seen programme, I get a bit suspicious if its channel 4, theyre usually out to cause controversy, and I find a lot is 'for the cameras'.

But I can recognise tourettes a mile off, or if someones faking it, either for attention, benefits, or an excuse to swear. I hate the way the condition is sanitised if someone is a serial swearer for the sake of it, and jokes they have tourettes.

I wondered if the younger boy had other additional needs as well as Tourettes. Some of the outbursts resonated as perhaps some ADHD too.

The older boy was a gem. Seemed a nice kid. As did the little one to be fair! The bit about worrying about passing it on was heartbreaking.

*I wondered if the younger boy had other additional needs as well as Tourettes. Some of the outbursts resonated as perhaps some ADHD too.

The older boy was a gem. Seemed a nice kid. As did the little one to be fair! The bit about worrying about passing it on was heartbreaking.*

Couldn't agree more.

I haven't watched the programme so can't comment on that. However as a mother of a 7 year old child with Tourette's who has been asked twice this week if he has hiccups and told once to straighten his face out, I hope the show shows the absolute heartbreak this condition brings.

My husband is heartbroken to have passed it on.

I'm heartbroken at the stares my lovely son gets (no he doesn't swear, but who knows if he will in the future.) and when people comment on his silly noises or ask him does he want the toilet because he twists his legs around.

Then the heartbreak at school when kids copy him.

Just fucking heartbreak all round.

Oh and yes, he even does them in his sleep. I have been asked this so many times as a have you checked he's not faking it. It's been four years and gets progressively worse. No we don't get benefits either.

I can't see what anyone would gain from faking this.

My issue with shows about Tourettes is that they often only show the 'sweary' ones which sensationalises the disorder and people seem to think it's funny to see children swearing. Actually the swearing as a vocal tic is quite uncommon.
As the mother of a 19 year old dd with ASD and chronic tic disorder I can tell you it is actually heart breaking to watch her in pain and embarrassment having no control over tics which can be vocal such as screaming or shouting out random words or physical like clapping jumping, throwing things, hitting herself, falling down etc etc. It constantly changes and gets worse with anxiety. When having a 'tic attack' she is not safe to be left alone.
She has never had swearing as a tic. She has however been accused of doing it for attention and told she could hold it in if she tried harder. Why would a teenage girl want that kind of attention! It is a very cruel condition to live with.
There are much more informative videos on YouTube if anyone wants to know more about it.