Tourettes: I Swear I Can’t Help It

This documentary follows a select group of people who have Tourettes and shows how their lives are affected by the condition.

Tourettes is a common neurodevelopmental disorder with onset in childhood and is characterized by multiple motor tics and at least one vocal ‘tic’.

These tics characteristically wax and wane, can be suppressed temporarily, and are typically preceded by an unwanted urge or sensation in the affected muscles. Some common tics are eye blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements.

Although Tourette’s doesn’t adversely affect intelligence or life expectancy, it does come with a great annoyance for these involuntary Tourette ticks.

During Tourettes: I Swear I Can’t Help It we’ll party follow Tourettes affected John Davidson.

In 1989, teenager John Davidson featured in a BBC documentary about Tourettes called John’s Not Mad. At that time, few people had even heard of Tourettes, let alone knew anything about the neurological condition.

John was 16, and trying to come to terms with a frightening world where his language and behaviour was a constant form of offence to everyone around him.

In 2009, John continued in Tourettes: I Swear I Can’t Help It and shows us the follow-up as to how it is living with Tourettes.