Hi everyone, I am normally able to mask most of my tics so that people do not really notice I have them. For instance, instead of randomly squatting, I’ll squat down to pick something up, or if I need to stick my finger in my belly button, I just pretend to itch it. But how do you disguise a squeaking tic?

My Tourette’s wants me to scream, but I just push out a squeak that feels like a scream. I’ve never had a tic like this. Some of my tics can be loud, such as coughing and clapping, but this one is high-pitched and annoying.

A few weeks ago, when it first started, I was squeaking, and my brother asked my dad if the noises were coming from our dog. My dad replied, “No, that’s your sister.” Sounds kind of weird, huh? Being compared to a squealing dog?

I was sitting in an office chair a few days after that, and I was squeaking. My brother then asked if it was my chair making the noise. So… now I’ve been compared to a dog and a chair. It’s a bit funny once you think about it. Funny, but still annoying. You know how people say, “I’m so overwhelmed, I need to just scream into a pillow!”? Well, for me, I really do need to scream!

Do you ever think about what us people with Tourette Syndrome look like to people who don’t have it? I’ve been thinking about it, and I get how our disorder seems so strange and hard to understand. We must be patient while raising awareness, because not everyone in our lives will accept us. Thanks for reading, and stay strong!