A Talk with Tourette

As I was glossing over the list of possible resources to use for the neuro note assignment, I stumbled upon a Ted Talk about Tourette's Syndrome called "Tourette Does the Talking".  I immediately clicked on the link because I have always had an interest in Tourette's Syndrome.  I think this is primarily due to the fact that I have never met someone with Tourette's, so it seems very foreign to me.  I have done some research about it over the years and I would love the chance to be able to sit down with someone who has it and talk about how it has affected his/her life.  I would like this opportunity because I believe it is one of the more challenging neurological disorders in our world.  It affects a persons life 24/7 and tends to start in childhood or adolescence (so they endure the hardships for the entirety of their lives!)

In the Ted Talk, college student Thomas White gives us a look at a day in the life of someone living with Tourette's Syndrome.  He explains that he has the common verbal and motor tics that most people who have Tourette's exhibit, but that he has Coprolalia as well.  Coprolalia is the usage of profane or offensive language that rarely occurs in those who have Tourette's.  Thomas is constantly insulting people he likes and even those he loves.  It is because of these challenges that he deems Tourettes to be an "unrelenting neurological assault."  He continues his discussion by giving us a play-by-play as to what his average day looks like.  He begins his day by stating "I hate you, you f*cking sh*t" to a friend in the bathroom and is answered with "Hey, how's it going Tom?"  He mentions that he is fortunate enough to have friends that understand what he goes through.  When putting his books away for the classes of the day, he hits himself in the head with each book.  Before watching this Ted Talk, I did not realize that Tourette's not only causes bizarre language patterns, but also causes someone to do things they would not normally do.  He continues on to describe the struggles that he faces on a daily basis.  However, he does not end on a pessimistic note.  He actually does not see himself as a victim.  He states that he has problems, just like each and every one of us does and if we as humans are going to overcome these hardships, we must stick together.

In this course, we learn about empathy and being sensitive to others who have these neurological conditions.  To empathize with someone, it literally means to share feelings with someone else. Thomas hit the nail on the head when he said that we are all in this together, no matter what the diagnosis or problem is.  He states that "we can triumph together when we see that we are in the same boat."  If we just look outwardly at what other people are feeling instead of getting caught up in our own hardships, we can work together to overcome.

After watching the video, I did a bit more research on Tourette's, and I came across the website for the Tourette Association of America (https://www.tourette.org/), which has a vast array of information about Tourette's.  It also has testimonials from different people of different age groups of those living with Tourette's, which I found to be very conducive to my learning experience.

White, T. (2014, February). Tourette does the talking [Video File]. Retrieved from http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Tourette-Does-the-Talking-Thoma;search%3Aneurological