Yesterday I wrote about a new series of blog posts we’ve commissioned by writer Serena Bhandari. I’m really excited to share Serena’s first post today.

My name’s Serena and this is the first in a series of guest blogs I’ll be doing for Touretteshero.…

This evening, for the ninth time, people across the country stood on their doorsteps or leaned out of their windows and make noise in solidarity with people providing care during the pandemic.

This weekly ritual has become a poignant marker of time for me and many other people.…

In response to the current uncertainty due to Covid-19, we have decided to pause recruitment for Touretteshero’s General Manager. We are currently winding down all non-essential work to prioritise the health and wellbeing of everyone we work with until at least July 2020. …

Back in January we announced the exciting news that Touretteshero had been given a grant from Arts Council England’s Elevate Fund to develop and grow our team and the work that we do.

Our mission is to use Tourettes as a catalyst for celebration and social change – we want to be part of creating a more inclusive and socially just society for both disabled and non-disabled people.…

We’re on the eve of a big anniversary, but for me the end of this decade has special significance. Ten years ago, Touretteshero was born, since then everything’s changed, and I’ve become a radically different person. As the clock struck midnight on 31 December 2009, that incredible transformation was well under way.…

I’ve tried to manage my tics a number of different ways over the years and one of the most effective for me has been through practical solutions and interventions that make life easier and safer.

Several years ago I did a round-up of all these interventions, and I often share it with others who might find it useful.…

Over the last fifteen years or so I’ve read quite a few research articles on Tourettes, many of them focused on the effectiveness of various treatments. Recently we were contacted by a researcher with a very different area of interest and it felt to me like an exciting and intriguing area of investigation.…

About a month ago I was in the middle of watching an incredible show by Fevered Sleep called Men and Girls dance. It was just five professional male dancers and nine girls who dance for fun, joining forces for an incredible production that was a joyful celebration of movement, touch and playfulness.…

Having Tourettes means I’m sensitive to certain sounds. Some noises are uncomfortable for me to hear and make me overreact. There are others that I find really exciting, which make my tics go wild.

One such noise is the sound of people rolling their ‘r’s!…

Almost a decade ago I had a conversation that changed my life – I was sitting in Leftwing Idiot’s kitchen talking about my intensifying tics and he described my Tourettes as a “language-generating machine” and told me that not doing something creative with my tics would be wasteful.…