“Biscuit” has been one of my regular tics for many years. I don’t know exactly when it started, but by early 2011 I was very biscuity! I once worked out that I tic “biscuit” about 16,000 times a day, so unsurprisingly it’s a word that lots of people strongly associate with me.…

We’ve been interested in technology focused research and practice for a long time. In 2013, Touretteshero collaborated with Dr Tom Mitchell and Dr Joseph Hyde on The Alchemy of Chaos which converted a year of ticcing episodes into music that was presented at a TEDx talk at the Royal Albert Hall.…

When people think about what it means to require care, especially if it’s 24 hours a day as I do, they often think of it as a ‘worst-case scenario’. For me, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Having a package of support that meets my needs gives me the independence to live and work as I choose.…

I woke up this morning to feelings I haven’t experienced in almost three years. It’s the unique mix of tiredness, contentment, and relief that follows any largescale activity we’ve ever organised. Last night the Touretteshero team held our first big event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.…

I started working for Touretteshero just over a year ago. It’s been a busy and exciting time, but also an unusual one – because until a few weeks ago I’d never met any of the Touretteshero team in person! Now, though, I’m sat on the sofa in our lovely new office, where most of us work together.…

One of the mysterious things about Tourettes is why certain words or noises become vocal tics. Anything I’ve ever known can become a tic, even things I’m not consciously aware of have turned up – I had to google: Alan Hanson, marmoset and whether Keith Duffy was allergic to peanuts.…

Joyce has been supporting me for around seven years now. She started as an agency carer but when that agency stopped supporting people in my area, she came to work for me directly.

Joyce is amazing – she’s patient, thoughtful, kind, funny, and an excellent cook.…

Every year since Touretteshero began, we’ve created a Christmas card inspired by a festive tic. We’ve had some amazing guest artists including Jim’ll Paint It, Amber Anderson, Ben Connors and Richard Phoenix.

We usually do a big mail-out and send cards to our partners, collaborators, friends, and allies, but this year we’re doing things differently.…

As you probably know, for the last couple of months we’ve been sharing the ideas and creative projects of artists supported by our Young Artist Development Programme. Today it’s the turn of Maria Bradley whose playful illustrations and insightful words communicate her experiences of tics – let’s meet Maria and tickles.…

While Bean is very curious and asks lots of questions, one thing she’s never asked me is why I use a wheelchair, she’s always just accepted my chair as part of me.

Since she was tiny, I’ve tried to find books or toys that include disabled characters because I want the things around her to reflect her world and family.…