Last week’s episode of the CBC radio program “Wiretap” featured a man with Tourette Syndrome describing his experiences with online dating. So much of what he said resonated with me (diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome as an adult): the range of people’s reactions to this information, the feeling of elation when a tic is released, and even his penchant for bird calls!<\/p>\n
Despite my tics being relatively benign and amusing on the spectrum, I too am constantly concerned about how my tics are being perceived, or if I’m wearing out my friends’ patience by asking them 100 times a day “Are you a chicken?” I created a folded brochure entitled “Why is Danny Saying Monkeys?” to explain Tourette Syndrome, including my own particular variety. One paragraph states “Tourette is a good way to detect awesome people… because those who love me despite my Tourette, or even because of it, are awesome!”<\/p>\n
At the end of the piece on Wiretap, the man with Tourette says, “If I find the right woman for myself, and I let loose in bird calls, ideally she would join me. That’s what I’d like.” I really identified with this, because I have many people in my life who do just that, and it really helps me feel less outside the norm. One trick I do when I have to wait at a restaurant is to give my name as “Monkeys” so that when the server calls out “Monkeys!” I’m not the only person in the restaurant who’s doing it!<\/p>\n