I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me

This documentary should be shown in every school in America. It's the best simple explanation yet of a complex and widely misunderstood affliction, Tourette's Syndrome. The makers of the documentary chose to include only the voices of children, which was a brilliant decision. The kids pour out their hearts, often in ways that are painful to watch, about how difficult it is to have Tourette's in a world where understanding is hard to come by. Without seeking any pity, just by talking and explaining their tics, they show phenomenal poise, likability, and often amazing wisdom -- not just about Tourette's, but about respect in general, for all people who are "different." This video would be an excellent teaching tool in classrooms for educating not only students, but also teachers -- and not only just about Tourette's Syndrome, but also about basic decency and empathy toward other human beings.

As a sister of a brother who had a severe case of Tourette's and a mother of a son who has mild Tourette's, I think the show was awesome. I think if anyone would watch this, they would be very understanding as to what people with Tourette's go through. I work at a school and have heard teacher's comments on tics, not understanding that they just can not "stop it and settle down". I think this would be a very good learning tool for all school staff to watch. I think it would also work as a good Character Counts teaching tool for students, so that all students could understand that these kids are just as normal as you and I, except for the tics, and they need friends just like everyone else.

Thank you for such a great documentary. My niece has tourettes and she had tough times while she was a teenager. she is now 21years old. She and the children in this documentary are the bravest people I know. Education is the key. All teachers should be educated when they have a child in their class that has tourettes. My niece was lucky her teachers had taken some classes in dealing with children who have tourettes. What was real nice about this documentary was that it had children who were interested in all different things that children there age like to do. That even with having tourettes you are still just a child, a person who have the same dreams and aspirations that of other children their same age have.

Watching this documentary makes you want to just hug those children and never let them go.

I wish them the best of luck always.

I loved this for raising my level of awareness and educating on Tourette's. I hope each of the children featured can love themselves for who they are and are surrounded by people who love and support them.

I can't stop my tears... Thank you for writing this story! My son was diagnosed in the 80's with Tourette's and suffered from ADHD. In the 80's in our small town he was the only child who had Tourette's and ADHD. He was labeled and forced to ride the "small bus" which he refereed to as the "retard bus". Needless to say, I faced challenges with all of his teachers, working with them and trying to educate them on how to deal with Joey's tourette's and ADHD. It became an awful experience for my son daily until dropping out his freshman year. His life took a drastic turn at 16 where he began using drugs and becoming a runaway. To survive my son was drawn into the dark world of exotic dancing looking for a way to make a living and survive the streets.

It was here in this world where he was excepted and was able to regain his confidence and his image. I would never support this choice due to the drugs & alcohol, however; I won't deny the benefits. His experiences in this world spanned a 7 year period. To fast forward to today he is the proud father of a 7 year old girl who is extremely intelligent without any signs of Tourette's! My son spends everyday working to rise above Tourette's while doing what it takes to fit in our society. Thank you so much for producing this story! No child should ever experience what my son had to go through. Beth Klobuchar-Oliver