Write me a story

/ Jeff Cann

CaptureAwareness. A teal ribbon. A buzzword, something I talk about often. Or at least I write about it. I suffer from Tourette Syndrome. A poorly understood disorder, uncurable. Stigmatized and ridiculed. So much so, that last spring, the Tourette Association of America’s entire social media campaign was Tourette: It’s not a punchline.  C’mon, you might say, people cuss, it’s funny! Yes, it is… until you look at their life.

Through my blog, I tell stories. I show people what it’s like to be an adult living with Tourette. Through my blog, I’ve been noticed. The TAA emailed me last week. They want me to join a task force. I’ll help set the agenda for Tourette Awareness. I’ll bring to the table the concerns of an Adult with Tourette.

Today I read a blog post on Tic Talk (clever name). It floated a wish that everyone should spend a day in the skin of someone with Tourette. Brittney, the author, thinks people wouldn’t find it so funny anymore. Like I always do, I left a comment. Yes, that would be the start of true Tourette awareness. I went on to wonder if the stories we bloggers tell make any difference at all.

And then I went for a run. When I run, my mind wanders. Sometimes. Sometimes it just blanks out. I consider those my most effective runs. But today, it wandered, dwelled. I thought about how to measure if my Tourette Awareness posts reach anyone. If anyone learns anything from me. Here’s what I came up with:

I want you to write a blog post. For me. I’m looking for guest bloggers to write their perspective on Tourette. Your post can be about anything, so long as it’s also about Tourette. If you send it, I’ll post it, with an introduction and possibly a closing. It can be a post of compassion, or a post of confusion: A teacher once told me that it’s hard to tell when the kids with Tourette are “playing” her to get their way (a perspective I respect, by the way). You might write about frustration and annoyance: Why would someone with a compulsion to shout out the N-word several times an hour go to a movie? Or write a short story or a poem. Or a letter to the TAA asking them why they’re so uptight about the punchline thing.

If I’m going to be chiming in on Tourette Awareness, I’d like to gauge how I’m doing. So please help me out. You know I’d do the same for you. You might get some exposure, maybe a new follower, and I get an awareness perspective from someone who doesn’t have Tourette. My teenage daughter would say Win/Win.

Send posts to jeff.t.cann@gmail.com.

Gracias,

Jeff

11 thoughts on “Write me a story”

  1. I love this idea, and look forward to seeing submissions! Might even reblog it at some point to widen the audience (with permission of course)

    The more stories that get out there, the easier it is to convey what we already know. Tourettes isn’t just tics. It isn’t something you throw a blanket description over. It is unique to each individual and how it effects their life

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    • Reblog away of course. I’ll be interested to see if anyone accepts the challenge. One good thing is a very talented, thoughtful writer owes me one. I wrote a post for her blog on a topic she requested.

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  2. Interesting idea Jeff, I’d like to contribute a story about when I worked at SF library. I want to be respectful but there’s a humorous component to the story. I hope it’s ok, (it’s not at the expense of the person who had Tourettes), it’s about another person’s reaction to them.

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    • I appreciate it Robyn. I’m sure it will be insightful since you spend so much time thinking about neurological disorders. I’m heading your way right now for Eli’s mountain bike race. I’ll keep my eyes open for you. 😃

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      • Oh, that’s funny! Some good friends of ours have a son that is in the same mountain bike group as Eli – they were in Gettysburg a few weeks back for the same race (although I think different age group). I thought the same thing recently – we did a family trip to Gettysburg a little bit ago as Declan is into history (and Bob loves Gettysburg). I kept looking around thinking, “I know Jeff’s house is around here somewhere, and there’s always a chance he is out running….” But, I didn’t see you. Good luck to Eli! Hope he has a lot of fun today.

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