“You’re always in the centre of attention, whether you like it or not,” says Oliver Dawson, 20, who has been ticking since he was a kid.
Re: News sat down with Oliver to ask him what it’s like to live with Tourette’s.
Watch the full video on TVNZ+
Tourette syndrome is a neurological condition characterised by involuntary movements and sounds, known as tics.
It’s currently Tourette’s Awareness Month, which goes from May 15 to June 15.
Within Tourette’s there are motor tics, which include blinking and twitching, and vocal tics which include grunting, sniffing and saying particular words or phrases.
Tourette’s Association of New Zealand says “tics are not behavioural and cannot simply be controlled”.
The association said Tourette’s affects an estimated 1 in 100 people, including those with chronic or transient tic disorders, and there is no formal government-funded support for Tourette’s.
“Many remain undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed, particularly girls, Māori and Pasifika individuals, and those in rural areas.”
Oliver has had several tics over the years
He says his current tics are mostly “clicking noises or popping noises, a lot of shadowboxing with my head”.
“My arms go a lot more than anything else.”
His previous tics included a hand-raising tic, bomb noise tics, throwing things down lecture halls and a tic where he breathed out loudly through his nose.
Oliver says he can sometimes feel his tics coming on and that they can build up like a sneeze.
“When I’m in environments where I’m very comfortable and ticking is almost appropriate, I tend to tic less. But when I’m in classes or exams or even a funeral, a lot more comes.”
Oliver’s diagnosis took some time
He was diagnosed with a tic disorder when he was six-years-old, but the tics went away when he was in year seven and year eight.
“It really came back, I think, at around year 10. I borderline swung at a teacher who was bent over my desk helping me.
“We kind of ended up going to the psychologists again and eventually getting diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.”
‘Please ignore it’
This year, Tourette’s Association of New Zealand is telling people to ‘please ignore’ people’s tics and to avoid having an outward reaction.
Oliver says he feels the same way.
“I don’t want you to kind of turn a blind eye to the fact that it exists. But in that moment, I don’t really need the attention every four seconds.”
Watch the full interview on TVNZ+
