The Stigma of Tourette s Syndrome. Calum Beaulieu, Nick Bonee, Doug Pellerin H Period

Transcription

1 The Stigma of Tourette s Syndrome Calum Beaulieu, Nick Bonee, Doug Pellerin H Period

2 Media s Effect on Perception of Tourette s v=rcpw4ux5ieo Comedians such as Daniel Tosh have a long history of making fun of Tourette s Syndrome. The physical and verbal tics that result from the illness are often made into jokes, mocking and marginalizing the people affected with the illness. This could make it less likely for one suffering with it to search for help and increase the likeliness of them developing antisocial behaviors.

3 Media s Effect on Perception of Tourette s (cont.) v=bhx9dcejd5i Tourette s Guy is a fictional character on YouTube who jokes about Tourette s Syndrome by acting as if he is afflicted with it by including erratic behavior that one who actually is affected by the syndrome would not experience. For (mostly younger) people who have not been educated on the illness, this may paint a picture that people affected with Tourette s are immature, unable to handle themselves at any point, and may become angry and violent very quickly.

4 Media s Effect on Perception of Tourette s Comedic videos making fun of the illness increases the embarrassment one could feel if afflicted and could create the perception that people with Tourette s have little control over their behavior and may become violent. News stories that make a significant point that the person has Tourette s Syndrome can exacerbate the fact that people feel as though mentally ill people are erratic and violent.

5 Positive News Report "Why Tourette's may be Tim Howard's Secret Weapon on the Field" US Goalkeeper Tim Howard has suffered from tourette's syndrome since he was in high school and according to studies by neurologist Oliver Sacks it may be part of the reason he is a successful goalkeeper. Recent studies have shown that people who suffer from tourette's generally have better reflexes than people who don t suffer. A recent experiment that tested reaction time and accuracy found those who suffer from Tourette s had reaction times five to six times faster than the average

6 New information People with TS can sometimes suppress, camouflage, or manage their tics so the are unnoticable A confident diagnosis of TS can be made if the person has had tics for at least a year several physical tics and one vocal tic tics occur many times during a day almost everyday

7 Recent Breakthroughs "Tourette Syndrome study eyes new treatment for misunderstood condition" New idea suggest TS reflects a too-high sensitivity to dopamine Antipsychotic medications have been used to reduce dopamine sensitivities Block receptors and suppress the tics of TS

8 School s empathy Accept a person s tics and don t mock them because they can t control it and it is a real mental illness

9 Students Perceptions of Tourette s Syndrome We interviewed 6 students whose only knowledge of Tourette s stemmed from the media and what they had been told from other people. Here are some notable responses to our questions: 1. What are the top 3 most common mental illnesses? Some included responses were: Retardation, autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety

10 2. Did you know that Tourette s Syndrome is 3 times more common in boys than in girls? All 6 were not aware of this 3. How difficult is it for someone with Tourette s to maintain employment? Very difficult, Difficult due to judgement of others, No, I would hope not 4. How do you see the media treating people with Tourette s? The media makes them seem unstable, They live a difficult life

11 5. Are people with Tourette s Syndrome harmful to themselves or others? They re not at all harmful to others, More to themselves than others 6. What is your perspective of people with Tourette s? They can act normally, They live a difficult life 7. Does Tourette s Syndrome cause people to act erratically? 5 said yes, 1 said it could

12 8. Are people with Tourette s more likely to commit crimes? 4 said no, I don t think so, Maybe 9. Is there any positivity that can result from Tourette s syndrome? People who can control it very well can increase awareness of the illness

13 Through the interview questions, we learned that the media perceives people with Tourette s syndrome as erratic, sometimes violent, and doesn t educate people at all on the actual occurrences the illness causes or the varying degrees of severity that people with Tourette s can have.

14 Stigma of Tourette s Syndrome Due to comedy videos and skewed news stories, the vast majority of people have a convoluted perception of Tourette s syndrome This perception includes believing that people afflicted with the illness are violent and unstable Furthermore, ignorance of the severity causes people to think the syndrome is funny.