Tourette Blog

Tourettic Spectrum blog • https://disboard.org/server/1448850937094475908 // TSD content • https://linktr.ee/touretticspectrum

[touretticlife]

If you’re undiagnosed or need a medical card (not just for tourettic people, anyone with a disability can benefit from this as well), here are some resources;

I hope everyone is okay. Take frequent breaks, block words and others, do frequent self care, invest in setting up and adding more things to accommodate yourself, make time for yourself.

Speak to your professional/neurologist some will be able to give you a medical card, some may be able set up an accommodation where your dr can accommodate you through phone.

Printing them out is still valid especially if you need to edit your needs and around your tics, tics change and come and go, it’s likely that we may need to change our cards anyways. Tourette’s organizations usually has a card to print out. In Tourette’s association of America they have English and Spanish. There’s one for those without coprophenomena tics and there’s one for those who have coprophenomena tics. But they are not customizable, they’re already written out for you.

Amazon has almost everything, here you can customize your card.

Hidden disability sunflower has space to personalize your medical card. They’re still spreading the word, but the sunflower means hidden disability, some places are aware of it, some are not, their websites allows you to lookup places who has the hidden disability sunflower logo.

Here is their first page, it links to other places you’re at. Once you’ve found your country go to main menu (☰), click on “The Sunflower”, scroll until you’ve found “Sunflower cards”, I’m not sure how the digital one works but once you’ve customized your card you’re set to go! There are some already set up and you can edit the rest, if you’re unsure what to write or don’t have excessive energy to write a lot.

They have so much to look through.

~~ Homemade ~~

~ Printing ~

Find a card size [ 3.375” x 2.125” (85.6mm x 54mm) ], write out your condition, after printing you can tape it (to make it more sturdy) or slide it in a clear card.

You can customize it to however you’d like, but you need to make sure your needs and condition is readable, has basic information and specific needs.

You can buy the sunflower landyard or look through your shops to find one you like or feel is suitable. Or you can keep it in your wallet.

If you feel your tics are too active, going to be in a space where it can trigger coprophenomena/oppositional tics (rude phrases, throwing tics, spitting tics, pulling your mask off as a tic, screaming tics, writing tics, etc.) or have times where your tics may accidentally break or hit someone - such as your arms or legs stretching out. I recommend having easy access to pull it out or wearing it.

I have two, but I’m going to upgrade it, so far one is Batman and the other is the sunflower. I printed out the TAA medical card, but I am looking to upgrade it. My area isn’t aware of the sunflower, but it’s one way to spread awareness whenever I wear it.

Stay safe out there, you deserve to be in public! I highly recommend rereading accommodation and disability laws as well.

[touretticlife]

Which post would you like to see first?

Blocking tics

3 tic levels and tic level upgrades

Voting ended onJun 3

[touretticlife]

A fairy loses its wings every time tourettic people call their Tourette’s anything but Tourette’s

[touretticlife]

Weird thing about Tourette’s that a lot of people miss is that it can effect ONLY your volume.

I could be saying “yeah I like that color.” But my tics are either making me scream most of the words or screaming or whispering a random word in the middle of trying to talk. “Yeah I like that color” is not a tic but how I say it, is a tic.

Because it’s odd to causally scream in the middle of talking. E.g. “yeah I LIKE that COLOR!”

[touretticlife]

I apologize for the lack of posts for awareness month this year, I did have something big planned. But for now I am going to keep learning, everyday I end up learning something new or learning how to advocate much better. I might also branch off someone else’s posts and just add my own experiences on there as well as any extra info. :)

But I do want to share my two favorite advocates.

TwitchySpoonie / snapplencats on Twitter, YouTube, and tiktok.

She is a very advanced advocate. She does believe that the ADHD, OCD, ASD is just Tourette’s itself. She speaks a lot deeper about living with TS compared to others.

LifesATwitchEmma. On YouTube and tiktok

She is one of the best Tourette and mild coprolalia representation, enjoys talking about Tourette’s and sharing the TS experience as much as possible.

That’s all!!! There are many more, but these two are my go to.

Happy awareness month !!! MAKE EVERYONE AWARE 😆

[tic-loud-tic-proud]

New Tourette Association of America president and it's still not a person who actually has TS or has a family member with it. What a surprise

[touretticlife]

TAA needs a major change.

[disability-and-cats]

being out of the house and or being exposed to more intense/unordinary stimuli can exacerbate tourette syndrome.

it could even cause a more prolonged bout of severity, even when returned home and or stimuli is reduced back to normal.

i was out of the house yesterday and was surrounded by grand stimuli for many hours, and while emotionally i was happy, my tics were exacerbated.

my arm would beat my chest hundreds of times. no exaggeration.

my vocal chords make these strange and bizarre loud sounds, and it would happen so many times so loudly for so long, my throat is extremely sore.

despite the soreness, bruises, and pain i endured and that i am left with, i don't regret leaving the house and i had a good time : ]

i can't handle experiencing this often, so i can't leave the house much, so i truly love the moments where i get to go out and see the world again, it always makes me happy.

[miki-langelo]

having tics is like having a controller with stick drift or a buggy button

[the-polyhedron]

How many people’s most beloved childhood stuffed animals are actually teddy bears, like I feel like that’s a thing someone made up. Reblog this and put what your longest owned and/or favorite stuffed animal as a child was in the tags, inquiring minds want to know

[iridescent-birds]

ok I wanna make a poll now

What was your most beloved plushie as a child?

Bear

Dog

(Domestic) cat

Big cat

Equine (horse/zebra/donkey)

Rabbit/bunny

Sheep/lamb

Sea creature

Other domesticated animal

Other wild animal

Fantasy creature

Not an animal

Voting ended onApr 15

(I know this isn't the most even way to represent animal groups but I tried to go off of what I saw mentioned most in the notes)

Reblogs for sample size appreciated!

[hep-heptagon]

Was watching a vid where someone was talking about how quick they’d die in A Quiet Place and baybe trust me my tics would make me first in line at heavens gates that day ✌️🕊️

Bonus: what if the monster tried to be inclusive

[touretticlife]

😭😭😭 frr

[yrfemmehusband]

By the way the enemy wants transmascs, transfems, and nonbinary people fighting with each other. By the way they want us to believe there is no community to be found within each other. By the way I've never met a trans woman In real life who is openly hostile to trans men and trans mascs in fact I've only found community with them. By the way the trans community is the most loving community ive ever seen. I'm sure there are some of us out there who truly hold contempt for other people under the trans umbrella but I've been in quite a few trans spaces and never met one. Trans people, by and large, love each other, take care of each other, and form long lasting friendships with each other.

They want us to see the hate more than the love. They want to divide us. Please don't let them.

[touretticlife]

TW - description of Tourette’s symptoms and tic symptoms

One thing I hate about Tourette’s is how purposeful it appears and feels.

My Tourette’s can make me move a few distances to kick or touch something, my Tourette’s can make me look for something for me to hit or hit myself with, it can make me lean into someone’s ear or face and scream or whisper as a tic.

More descriptions / examples ⤵︎

An example, Sweet Anita was on stage talking normally in the mic, then she leans in as a tic and goes on to have other tics.

Because she leaned into the mic as a tic then had other tics, people accused her of either faking or over exaggerating her Tourette’s.

Another example is a boy in a doc, was sitting a bit farther away from the doctors desk, he leans out of his seat to kick the table.

Or when Baylen was walking or standing near her sister, because she wasn’t extremely far, her Tourette’s made her take a step or two and touched her sisters items as a tic.

This caused her sister to yell at her and expect her to have full control of her tics.

I’m not talking about going great lengths, I’m talking about if it’s near me, I can physically have those tics, even if it makes me take a few extra steps.

I can’t explain the complex urge to grab anything you get your hands on to hit or touch something, the way Tourette’s controls your head and eyes to scan the environment, the times where my body is burning with electricity and I can feel my Tourette’s scanning places or people to tic at, if I can’t find a way to relive my tics I often subconsciously have BFRB, start stimming - leg bouncing, tapping, fidgeting, putting my focus onto something, etc.

All I can explain is that I have this bubble of energy and my Tourette’s is seeking a way to let it out, whether it’s through ticcing or stimming.

[sea-puppy]

If you have coprolalia, I love you. I know the world treats people with coprolalia either as a joke, or a danger, or a bad person on a moral level, and people with coprolalia deserve so much better. Y'all are all great, and if people treat you like you're not, eat them they need to fix their hearts or die.

Coprolalia isn't exclusive to tic disorders, and this post isn't solely for those with tic disorders. If you have coprolalia, you're included in this :3

[sea-puppy]

I had no idea this would be so relevant immediately after posting, but I'm loving y'all extra hard now. I hope y'all look after yourselves and take some time to chill without social media in you need to 💔💕

[dandy-boi-ftm]

I’m fucking tired and don’t look forward to whatever shit this causes for me because my autism and prosopagnosia gets me in enough trouble as it is.

This whole situation has been frustrating because so many official Tourette’s organizations respond with, “we ask for grace and understanding.” And yet, this has happened multiple times: a White man with Tourette’s gets in trouble over coprolalia or copropraxia in a situation where his tics negatively impact people who already face significant systemic barriers.

As a Filipino trans man with Autism, ADHD, Complex PTSD, and Tourette’s, diagnosed late in life, this is something that deeply frustrates me. Looking back, I rarely saw learning and developmental disorders diagnosed in People of Color. Many of us grew up with our tics unacknowledged, often framed as a moral failing or a lack of effort.

People of Color with Tourette’s often had to learn how to redirect or manage our tics early on, because simply explaining that we have Tourette’s does not afford us the same grace that White people with Tourette’s receive.

I think we need to understand the difference between intent and impact. A tic may not have intent behind it, but the impact can still be immediate and harmful; especially if it makes someone feel unsafe. We’re told about CBIT and medications to manage tics, but when someone with privilege has coprolalia or copropraxia, suddenly it becomes framed as completely uncontrollable and beyond discussion. If People of Color are not given the same freedom to tic as White people, maybe we need to reexamine whether tics that negatively impact others’ sense of safety should simply be allowed to continue without accountability or mitigation.

Growing up, most people I knew with tics experienced painful punishment that pushed us to hide or suppress them; often before we even understood they were neurological and beyond our control. I was used to seeing people step away or take breaks when their tics were affecting others.

When I became a 2024 Unsung Hero for the Tourette Association of America, it was the first time I was in a space full of people with tics who had grown up with the freedom to tic openly. I’ll be honest; I felt jealousy toward people whose Tourette’s caused them to throw or hit things without experiencing punishment. It took me months to stop the complex tics I unintentionally picked up at the gala. I was constantly apologizing for the tics I picked up, and it made me wonder whether the people I picked them up from ever apologize when their tics negatively impact others. I don’t know. But I worry that things may become even harder for minorities with Tourette’s.

And honestly… in the photos of Davidson, it looked like he was using chewelry. There are also tools like belt boxes or vocal dampeners that can help mitigate the impact of coprolalia. There are options for reducing harm.

[tic-loud-tic-proud]

But aren't people with Caprolalia usually told by medical professionals not to apologize because it's involuntary? Then again, it's unlikely professionals had incidents that public in mind when telling patients that.

Hi, thanks for the ask! This is a tricky topic that a lot of people have been wondering about. It's very true that medical professionals aren't thinking about situations like this when they say that to individual patients.

I've been to dozens of doctors including neurologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, etc throughout my life for my TS and the impact it has on my social life. Never once have I been told that I shouldn't apologize to people that are hurt by my coprolalia tics, and I do apologize for them fairly frequently. Sometimes doctors (usually therapists) do tell people with TS not to apologize constantly for their tics, but this is for different reasons than ones associated with coprolalia.

The reason many Tourettic people find themselves constantly apologizing is because we are self-conscious and know our tics can be distracting and annoying. When medical professionals tell us to stop apologizing, it is for when tics are harmless to other people, like a blinking tic or twitching tic, where constant "sorry"s are pointless and damaging to the Tourettic persons' mental health.

For people that have coprolalia, this gets way more complicated. Slur tics are, by nature, always offensive and this always impacts the people who hear or are subject to the tics, even though they are involuntary.

When someone with coprolalia apologizes to someone who is hurt by their tics, they are not apologizing for having TS or for being disabled. They are acknowledging that these words are hurtful regardless of intent and apologizing for the distress it causes other people. Slurs are slurs because they have centuries of trauma and oppression behind them and it is reasonable and valid for people to be upset by them.

In the case of John Davidson's n-word tic at the BAFTA Awards, apologizing is the right thing to do. An apology wouldn't undo any of the advocacy he's been doing and continues to do for the TS community nor does it mean he's apologizing for existing as a disabled person. It would recognize the harm his tics caused and take accountability for it. Apologizing would give much-needed respect to Jordan and Lindo who were forced to continue to stand up on that stage and endure this humiliation.

The most important thing when it comes to TS is preventing issues like what happened at the BAFTA awards entirely. Most accommodations for tics and TS at events like this center around preventing and minimizing the impact of a person's tics on those around them, like priority seating and especially warning people specifically of the nature of a person's tics (not just "you may hear involuntary noises" but "these involuntary tics may be slurs and other words that are offensive"). The lack of coordination and planning on behalf of the organizers of the BAFTAs is appalling.

I think that the people who say Davidson doesn't need to apologize, even if they're trying to be well meaning to the TS community, are going down a slippery slope of disrespect towards people that are impacted by hearing these slurs (and other offensive tics that can be part of coprolalia). Having an attitude of "I don't owe anyone anything" benefits nobody.

Davidson needs to apologize properly (not just "I'm sorry if you were offended") and in no way would doing that harm the TS or disability community.

[feldfrog]

[jackietastic]

Auuuggghhh I have Tourette’s and you just. Cannot convince people that your tics don’t reveal something about your psyche.

I’m so grateful I don’t have a slur as a tic. I did have an ex’s name as a tic like a decade after we dated and people were like “that means deep down you ~still love him~” and there was nothing I could say that could erase that smug, I-know-more-than-you “Your brain chose that word for a ~reason~“ attitude

Like, okay bitch, I also say “banana” so does that mean they’re secretly my favorite fruit? Fuck ooofffff

And at least with my ex’s name they were just convinced I was in denial. If you have a slur as a tic they just think you’re lying to get away with racism

And any tic you have, no matter how offensive or benign, people will be convinced you’re faking it for attention

I hate it I hate it I hate it

[tourettictrans]

if i tic a slur, i will apologize immediately. i've called my friends the f slur before and even if i know they're okay with it i immediately apologize. if i tell someone to fuck off or shut up, i apologize. even if we, people with tourette's, can't control what we say due to a neurological disability we all have, we can control how we react to it. and that should be apologizing, and if you don't know the people you've said it to: asking for forgiveness. if they don't give it to you, that's their choice.

i also think the misinformation people are spreading about tourette syndrome is not helping. you can't control what you tic, we should be allowed in public, you can't choose your tics, and tourette advocate john davidson is not faking it. spreading this misinfo is only going to fuel further ableism.

im not gonna post more on this tn because i wanna listen to what people of color with tourette's have to say first. if your curious i know @ killk1yoshi on instagram has already spoken up about her experiences as a black woman with tourette's surrounding this situation, and i suggest watching her video