Tourette's Podcast

Talking with professional writer Tara Lerman about a great many things, including the vitality we can find in highlighting Tourette stories and ongoing issues the community faces. Plus: a heap of answers to the question about good/constructive activities for a young person with Tourette.    https://www.taralerman.com/  Tara Lerman, 'Why We Need to Change the Conversation Around Tourette Syndrome' Tourette Association of America FY22 Annual Report

On this episode, a thoroughly good-vibe conversation with Raven, aka @poecrastinator on the socials. The conversation covers stigma, ticcing openly without disclosure, developing coprolalia and much more. Plus: A parent wants some ideas for activities his son can take up that might help him live with Tourette.  https://www.youtube.com/@poecrastinator  https://www.instagram.com/poecrastinator/ TAA resouce directory

A very special episode today with guest Bianca Saez and guest host Kass @ticsntatts, two adult women with Tourette sharing raw experiences. Both from Australia, the voices you hear today are well-known in the community -- Kass for her many angles on neurodiversity awareness on social media, and Bianca for her popular YouTube channel and appearances on television highlighting the dynamicism of her Tourette. Guided by Kass, Bianca shares powerful stories and perspective on what it means to have Tourette. Content warning: Brief but significant mentions of suicide and rape; some uncensored, casual language (Tourette's Podcast never censors coprolalia).  Bianca Saez on YouTube World's most severe Tourette's case doesn't want a cure | 60 Minutes Australia Kass @ticsntatts on Instagram Kass on TikTok https://tourette.org/resource/understanding-coprolalia/ https://tourette.org/

Stephen DiJoseph of Pennsylvania is a lifelong musician whose work connects art and Tourette Syndrome and came to the podcast's attention by way of a short film he made expressing just that -- in a really effective way. It's an art film, but comes off relatable to people with Tourettic brains, and this episode -- exploring Tourette, OCD and so on through music and expression -- flows in that spirit. DiJoseph has a concert coming right up that people can stream online Nov. 11. See below. Watch - A SynapTic Adventure: Tourettes and Beyond Stephen DiJoseph concert on NOV 11 @ 8pm EST at The Royal Glenside PA - Ticket link: https://www.facebook.com/events/663317678837203/?sfnsn=mo   https://www.stephendijoseph.com/  www.facebook.com/dijosephmusicandfilm  www.instagram.com/stephendijoseph

We welcome back to the podcast Amanda Talty, president and CEO of the Tourette Association of America. We talk about what TAA has been up to, the upcoming TAA gala (Nov. 10 in NYC), science and research, and more. Don't miss this one! Plus: A question from a parent about a situation at school.  Tourette Gala, Nov. 10 in NYC TAA's YouTube  Update on wearable devices for Tourette Amanda's bio

Dan was diagnosed in the 90s, when he was in first grade, forcing him to navigate Tourette when there wasn't much easy access to community. How could he explain it? Did he need to? Could he just get by with masking? Familiar questions-to-self for many with tic disorders like Tourette. Plus: A dad explains Tourette to his 5-year-old.    Tourette Gala, Nov. 10 in NYC

Our guest is Erick, a trans man and lifelong Touretter who, in navigating outsider judgments, became his own boss, found success with it, and realized that you "can't waste your energy anymore worrying about the people who try and deny who you are or what you have," as he put it. The discussion covers self-acceptance, co-occuring conditions like OCD, working in one's own, best way, and the difference between group advocacy success and exhausting, individual battles.  Tourette Gala, Nov. 10 in NYC

We talk with the eloquent Tom White, who works in the space of startups, in a great conversation covering pursuit of intellectual curiosities and how to keep momentum through often serious challenges. Plus, listener questions: 1) How do Touretters get used to ticcing in public?; and 2) When is Billie Eilish going to be on the show?  Tourette Gala, Nov. 10 in NYC https://www.tomwhitenoise.com/

We start this week with some breaking news from the Tourette Association of America: a Tourette Syndrome research study from the CDC has just landed, and it concludes that the prevalence numbers for Tourette Syndrome and persistent tic disorders are double what we previously thought. One in 50 school-age children has Tourette or a persistent tic disorder. Read more.  Our conversation this week is with superb guest host Jhonelle and an excellent guest Touretter named Shawna -- the two of them met at the Tourette Association of America's recent annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and continue to get to know one another here, with all levels of relatability. The hard times, the upsides, everything real.  And a listener question -- can Tourette positivity go too far? 

Peter Zhao -- you might know him as the great Fabulously Tourette -- takes the hosting helm for this episode featuring high school-aged guest Slayton, who has been managing Tourette in his life for about four years so far. Ben kicks us off with some quick Q&A about adults with Tourette before making way for the fantastic conversation that Peter and Slayton are able to create, with points about coprolalia, medications and side effects, bullying, creativity and more.  Fabulously Tourette Radio  My Crazy Brain (Slayton's podcast) https://tourette.org/about-tourette/overview/living-tourette-syndrome/adults/ https://tourette.org/support-adults-ts/

Season 8, Episode 2 follows last week's guest-host format with our friend Kass taking the reins in conversation with Lilly. They find quick connections in their respective Tourette experiences. Great discussions here about self evaluation and self care, imposter syndrome and dealing with later-onset tics. https://twitter.com/TicsnTatts https://www.instagram.com/ticsntatts/ https://www.tiktok.com/@ticsntatts  

Season 8 is here! Via our traditional Episode 0, we kick it off with updated thoughts on popular listener questions. 

The Season 7 finale episode. Our guest is Tourette scientist Dr. Flint Espil, who talks with us about the latest Tourette treatments and questions before saying something we weren't expecting. In a great way. Thanks so much to Gogo, Maddie, Johnelle, Tamara, Davide, Dan, Amelie, Winter, Jack, Mark, Sophia, Shamus, Saddiq, Christine, Harper, Flint, the other Sophia, the Tourette Association of America, Geeks Rising and so many other people who've been on or closely involved with the podcast. My mind is pried wider every day with your help. This has been the most rewarding and humbling season for me. Thank you, everyone, for listening. -Ben Dr. Flint Espil on Twitter Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! Tourette Gala is Oct. 28 You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook

Taking risks is ... risky. Might fail, right? You don't just suddenly decide to move from, say, the midwest to Los Angeles to try and turn your talents into a rewarding career. And, lord have mercy, having something like Tourette Syndrome and comorbids like anxiety doesn't help, does it? For pop singer Harper Starling, it did. This is, in fact, her story. She uprooted, made a long trek to L.A., where she knew no one, and, as we speak, is now preparing for a three week tour of England. Harper directly credits Tourette Syndrome for where she is right now in her singing career, which include a single out now called "Not Another What If" and another soon to debut. She's really forthcoming and direct in her music and that carries through this conversation. Hat-tip to Harper's manager, the very cool Cindy Valentine, for helping to coordinate this one. https://www.harperstarling.com/# Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! Tourette Gala is Oct. 28 You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook  

Keeping last week's episode - our analysis with tourette scientist Dr. Christine Conelea on some of the recent talk about young women and their symptoms -- in focus, this week is a referral to a response video from Tics n Tatts on YouTube. Kass, who runs the channel, adds great points. Tons left to explore with this question: has the Tourette science and treatment world gotten it wrong when it comes to Tourette and other neurological observations in women? Tourettes in Females Part 1: Recap of the Tourettes Podcast - YouTube S7 - Episode 14 - Science Episode: Revisiting the TikTok Thing, Sex Differences — Tourette's Podcast (tourettespodcast.com) S7 - Episode 4 - Is TikTok Giving People Tourette Syndrome? (Science Episode!) — Tourette's Podcast (tourettespodcast.com) Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook

Recall our episode a while back with the authors of scientific report examining why doctors were seeing reported swells of young women over the course of the pandemic with Tourette-looking symptoms, and how social media like TikTok -- by way of the tic-heavy videos posted by influential Tourette personalities -- might be a player. We're revisiting that on this episode, but from a different angle. What else might be going on? Are we getting it wrong when it comes to what Tourette looks like in females? What we examine: Are there real differences in how Tourette expresses in boys versus girls, men versus women? What's up with that observed boost in young women presenting tics? TikTok? What do we know about Tourette Syndrome nowadays from a science standpoint? How involved are Tourette patients in the conversations and work in science and medicine? Our guest is Tourette scientist (and longtime friend of the show) Dr. Christine Conelea, who has been doing amazing work busting Tourette myths and bringing clarity to the public. @cconelea on Twitter (and her 56-second summary of Tourette neuroscience) Dr. Conelea giving us highlights from the recent paper "The Female Tourette Patient: Sex Differences in Tourette Disorder" That paper in full EXTRA: @ticsntatts discussing the "functional tics" thing Support the show https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook

Saddiq is a radiography student and fitness Instagrammer/TikTok-er whose energy-spending workouts serve a role for his Tourette, discussed here in addition to late diagnosis, coprolalia, creativity and the stress of travel. https://www.instagram.com/saddiqhead/ Support the show https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook

A different kind of episode this week -- all listener questions, including some day-of zingers. Should we make this an occasional thing? An all-listener-questions episode? Contact. TAA's YouTube page Ask the Expert: Tourette and COVID-19 Vaccine Support the show https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook

Seamus Evans, an ambassador for the Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia, is a standup comedian, television and radio personality, and keynote speaker working in his experience with Tourette and the boundaries it seemed to set for him -- which he essentially laughed right past. Not that it was overnight-easy. Not that he didn't have the challenges and self-doubt and depression and everything else on the TS dinner menu. He brought all of that along and today shares what he figured out about himself. His story is so kinetic that we need a part-two. Plus: a listener question about music and concentration. https://www.seamusevans.com/ TAA's YouTube page Support the show https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook

This is a replay of an episode from 2019 that speaks pretty well to the emails we get asking for discussion of alternative "remedies" -- and why the podcast doesn't (or does so with heavy heaps of caution). Here's the writeup that accompanied the original airing: For Episode 10 of Season 3, we've called a doctor. (Yes, one with TS.) Clay Jones, M.D., is a pediatrician with a frequent byline on the widely read Science-Based Medicine (SBM) blog and is co-host of The Prism Podcast, which explores science, skepticism and the perils of not being an informed or careful seeker of what should be life-improving solutions. That's kind of an uncomfortable subject to dig into sometimes, particularly within the Tourette community. I've heard from Touretters asking whether I've tried certain alternative "remedies" or "healing" practices, or if I know anyone who has. What's tough about that is we as Touretters don't have a wholesale, go-to, zap-it-away solution presently. And as noted in a previous post here, current insurance protocols don't make it any easier. That may lead individuals searching for relief wherever hope might be -- which, sadly, is the scenario that swindlers love. That's not to say there's no merit in looking outside the mainstream for a solution that might work for you when all else has failed. Just be careful. Really careful. Ask questions. Ask for the science behind it, and don't accept feelgood anecdotes as a substitute. Some listeners I've heard from are desperate -- the word used -- for relief from complicated TS. Clay, on this episode, discusses his own TS before helping us develop our defenses against peddlers of illegitimate answers. Clay Jones, M.D., on Science-Based Medicine https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/author/clayjones/ On Twitter https://twitter.com/SBMPediatrics New Tourette's Podcast website https://www.tourettespodcast.com Support the show https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast is made possible by the Tourette Association of America, tourette.org. Support! You can give Tourette’s Podcast individual support at https://www.patreon.com/tourettespodcast Tourette's Podcast Discussion Group on Facebook