ITV Documentaries

Kids with Tourette's: In Their Own Words (2013x12)

: 28, 2013

“When he first started swearing, you do a big intake of breath and think ‘oh my gosh, now what am I going to do?’ At that point I don’t think I was even able to support him. The emotions took over and I just literally cried for two days…I was sad. I’d lost part of my son.” Kristy, mum to Connor, age 12 It is believed that 1 in 100 school children are affected by Tourette’s Syndrome, mostly boys. There is no cure, but there is hope, thanks to a pioneering treatment programme at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This one-off, hour-long documentary follows the lives of three boys and their families over a six-month period as they share the reality of living with the condition and the daily obstacles they face. This is their story, in their own words. They are filmed at home and in public and both the boys and their families share their personal thoughts direct to camera in individual interviews which are woven into the programme. It offers a compelling insight into Tourette’s and how it can be treated, with unprecedented access to Great Ormond Street’s Clinic, which deals with the most severe and complex cases in the country. Callum, age 9, wants to be an astronaut when he grows up and proudly shares his impersonation of an alien with Tourette’s. His mum Maria explains he started by getting eye tics and now gets new ones all the time. Callum says: “Other people stare at me and it’s annoying and sometimes I just want to go over there and tell them that I’ve got Tourette’s and I can’t help it, can you stop staring at me? Animals are easier to be with than people because the animals just ignore you because they can’t talk or say anything.” Connor is age 12. He says: “I look normal but I happen to have Tourette’s Syndrome. I can’t help shout, swear or do movements. I call my Tourette’s Johnny because it’s Johnny who shouts and swears and me who doesn’t shout and swear.” Connor’s dad Carl describ