{"id":1532,"date":"2012-11-12T10:54:09","date_gmt":"2012-11-12T15:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/tsparents\/?p=1532"},"modified":"2012-11-12T10:54:09","modified_gmt":"2012-11-12T15:54:09","slug":"am-i-one-of-those-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/njcts.org\/tsparents\/am-i-one-of-those-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Am I one of “those” people?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Below is what my friend posted on her\u00a0Frankly, My Dear … blog<\/strong> <\/a>today. We haven’t talked much lately, but I guess my daily Tourette Syndrome awareness posts are making an impact on my non-TS friends :)<\/em><\/p>\n I have an online friend who suffers from Tourette Syndrome. She\u2019s not shy about sharing her story, but I\u2019m ashamed to admit I often wonder how I will react when the day comes that we meet in person.<\/p>\n I like to think I\u2019m not judgmental or instinctive with my responses. I realize she can\u2019t help the things she sometimes does. When we talk, I feel so much pain for the sorrows and challenges she sometimes endures. But when faced with the thought of being in that moment with her tics, can I be the kind of person she needs me to be?<\/p>\n Can I not have that knee-jerk reaction I sometimes have when faced with the unknown, that instant instinct to shush someone else or turn away? Can I not just stand there, not knowing what to do? Can I reach beyond myself to be that compassionate, caring friend; the same as she\u2019s been to me?<\/p>\n Kate is confident. Able. Capable. Accomplished. Her Tourette is just a small facet of the wonderful person she is. I don\u2019t want that to define her any more than I want my poverty to define me. It\u2019s just a moment, just a glimpse of the totality of this life.<\/p>\n She often fills her Facebook page<\/a><\/strong> with helpful links and wonderful insights. Tourette is mistakenly (or often intentionally, carelessly) used as the brunt of Hollywood jokes, a means of excusing bad behavior and foul language in a manner reminiscent of the Three Stooges\u2019 foolery instead of open, honest dialogue.<\/p>\n The truth is, if it\u2019s misunderstood and can get a laugh, that\u2019s what people pay to see. It\u2019s disgusting and disappointing. Society often ridicules what it does not understand, making it all the more difficult to understand it. If it weren\u2019t for Kate, I still would have a minimal perception of her reality. Hers, and the millions more who suffer this syndrome.<\/p>\n Y\u2019all know me and words. I love words. I love their definitions. I love the words behind the words. \u201cSyndrome\u201d simply means a group of symptoms indicative of a particular condition.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s just it. It\u2019s a syndrome. It\u2019s not her<\/em>. It\u2019s not her life<\/em>. I\u2019m saddened with the reality that Tourette is often the only thing people notice about those who suffer. It\u2019s not just a momentary tic but the overall stigma, the fear and mockery that go with it. To label anyone in totality with just one description is unfair and incomplete.<\/p>\n I\u2019m just as much to blame as other ignorants; I haven\u2019t tried to give much understanding to it before I met Kate. I\u2019m not good at reaching out when I don\u2019t understand something. I assume they don\u2019t want me to learn more; they want me to leave them alone and act like it doesn\u2019t exist. I don\u2019t want to embarrass the other person, and I\u2019m inadequately prepared to offer what they need.<\/p>\n Not Kate. She\u2019s not afraid to say she has Tourette, not afraid to share how misperceptions, prejudices and even bullying are parts of life she\u2019s had to (but shouldn\u2019t have to) deal with. This morning, her Facebook wall had this post:<\/p>\n