Neuro Note #4: Tourette Does the Talking
Thomas White: Tourette Does the Talking
I was scrolling through the list of topic ideas and when I got to the TED Talk section I noticed this particular one and immediately showed interest in watching it. I've always enjoyed TED Talks and i've been watching them for years, but this one is by far my favorite one. When I first saw the words Tourette in the title, I thought it was going to be someone simply talking about what Tourette Syndrome is, but when I read the description, I saw that the speaker was the one who has Tourette Syndrome. I thought to myself, "now here is a person that has confidence in himself." I chose the video to see how a person that has Tourette Syndrome deals with speaking to an audience and how he would react to any outbursts he may have during his speech. I know what Tourette Syndrome is, but I wanted to do some background research to make sure I fully understood it before I watched the TED Talk. (Even though I knew that Thomas would explain it.)
In his TED Talk, Thomas explained that Tourette Syndrome is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that is a result of a specific type of neuron that "attacks" his conscious mind. He explains that these neurons will continue to come at him with all their might, until he caves. In result of his condition, these neurons can cause Thomas to yell, grunt, say inappropriate things, curse, twitch, or stutter his words. And throughout his talk, that is exactly what he did. But to me, his uncontrollable outbursts and movements were what made it a great TED Talk. Who can say that they have the courage to speak in front of an audience, though there is a possibility of cursing at them or having a grunt in your speech? Honestly, I wouldn't be able to do that.
Thomas goes into explaining what a typical day looks for him and how he deals with his Tourette Syndrome. He explains all the times he experienced an outburst during the timespan of a day at school and what happened as a result of it. What I didn't hear him do once was complain. During his talk, he apologized a few times after short outbursts, but he didn't really have anything to apologize for.
I really enjoyed Thomas's talk because he had no shame in himself or his condition. At first, when he would have a tic, a grunt, or an outburst, he would say "Sorry. Tourettes." But towards the end of the talk, he explains that he doesn't want to be seen as a person who has Tourette Syndrome, because he knows he is more than his condition; he wants to be seen as a person. Thomas wants us to see the human race as one and though we all have trials and we all have flaws, that doesn't mean that those flaws and faults define who we are as individuals. I wish everyone could watch Thomas's talk because there are a lot of people in this world who believe that they are defined by what society defines them as, but in truth, we are defined by who we are as individuals. He says that he is the one who is doing the talking, not the Tourette Syndrome, which is a big reminder that we are in charge of what we think about ourselves.
In his TED Talk, Thomas explained that Tourette Syndrome is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain that is a result of a specific type of neuron that "attacks" his conscious mind. He explains that these neurons will continue to come at him with all their might, until he caves. In result of his condition, these neurons can cause Thomas to yell, grunt, say inappropriate things, curse, twitch, or stutter his words. And throughout his talk, that is exactly what he did. But to me, his uncontrollable outbursts and movements were what made it a great TED Talk. Who can say that they have the courage to speak in front of an audience, though there is a possibility of cursing at them or having a grunt in your speech? Honestly, I wouldn't be able to do that.
Thomas goes into explaining what a typical day looks for him and how he deals with his Tourette Syndrome. He explains all the times he experienced an outburst during the timespan of a day at school and what happened as a result of it. What I didn't hear him do once was complain. During his talk, he apologized a few times after short outbursts, but he didn't really have anything to apologize for.
I really enjoyed Thomas's talk because he had no shame in himself or his condition. At first, when he would have a tic, a grunt, or an outburst, he would say "Sorry. Tourettes." But towards the end of the talk, he explains that he doesn't want to be seen as a person who has Tourette Syndrome, because he knows he is more than his condition; he wants to be seen as a person. Thomas wants us to see the human race as one and though we all have trials and we all have flaws, that doesn't mean that those flaws and faults define who we are as individuals. I wish everyone could watch Thomas's talk because there are a lot of people in this world who believe that they are defined by what society defines them as, but in truth, we are defined by who we are as individuals. He says that he is the one who is doing the talking, not the Tourette Syndrome, which is a big reminder that we are in charge of what we think about ourselves.
White, Thomas. (2013, July). Thomas White: Tourette Does the Talking. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0szLOMIt9SQ
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