I was very fortunate in that not only was I raised by an educated, understanding mother, but also that I was diagnosed with Tourettes' when I was very young, allowing me to have a longer adjusting period. I remember the day I told my mum what I was experiencing. She was downstairs doing laundry and over the past several days or weeks I had been experiencing urges to shake my arm or torso or to press on objects, such as the table. I went downstairs, perched on the dryer, and told her what had been going on. She had an inkling as to the cause, so we immediately took me took the doctor and I was fully diagnosed and set up with a neurologist at Columbus Children's within a year.
All through my growing up years my mum supported me and made certain that that I knew how important it was that I knew that my TS was nothing to be ashamed of and that all I had to say to someone was, "I have Tourettes'." At first it was a little awkward to tell people and I even went through a period where I didn't want people to know that I have TS. I felt like I was exposing myself and that if I told them, they may not accept me. I'm 23 years old now and over the past few years, I have been working hard to become comfortable with having TS - I had to learn that TS is not what I am, but rather it is a part of who I am. Now I can say to anyone with confidence and a smile, "Yeah I have Tourettes'." The important thing to take away from this story is that when one exudes confidence and comfortability people draw on that. In other words, when you're okay with it, it helps them to be too.
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