Tourettes: Teenage Tics

This programme contains very strong language.

They didn't tell me what to expect, cos I didn't know about Tourette's.

I kind of... Jack O'Hara! Fuck!

I kind of thought it was just people swearing and that.

Just like most people do. But it's really not.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Rory Brown has Tourette's syndrome -

a genetic neurological condition that causes involuntary tics...

Fuck!

..and verbal outbursts.

HE MOANS

It's a very weird feeling, and you can't stop it.

Ah! Ah!

Like Rory...

Fuck!

..John Davidson and Greg Storey have grown up with Tourette's.

Fucking idiot! Prick!

They have been filmed since childhood.

HE BLOWS A RASPBERRY

Ah!

Tourette's can be at its most extreme during teenage years.

Let's go!

Run away!

Fuck!

One, two, three, four...

Now Greg...

Rory Johnson!

..and John are going to help Rory...

-Fuck yous, you bunch of wankers!

-Shh.

..face the reality of living life with Tourette's.

I don't want any other kid to have to go through what I went through.

Ah!

It's flipping freezing, mate.

FUCKING FREEZING!

The big fat wanker!

My arse cheeks are very cold.

Paedophile!

12-year-old Rory Brown was first diagnosed

with Tourette's syndrome in 2014.

Hi, Miss Dunham.

Hey! Taking the piss out of George is funny!

Dylan's a fag! Filthy fag!

Rory, why don't you...?

Sean's a fat bastard!

Hey!

Fuck off!

Rory has just started secondary school.

-Since moving from primary...

-Fuck!

..his tics have intensified.

Fuck off!

Well, I'm ticcing quite a lot in class. And, um...

Hey! Um... Fuck!

HE HOOTS

I'm ticcing a lot in class

and shouting lots of stuff about other people. Um... Ah!

Fuck! Skinny prick!

Sorry.

I'm a wank stain!

'There's lots of weird ones,

'shouting out weird phrases and stuff.

'Kangaroo semen!'

Well, I obviously go and say sorry to them.

I mean, if I can't catch them, I feel really bad.

And I hope people know that I don't really mean it.

And I can't help it, so...

-What's an essay?

-Like a long story.

That's a good one. Is that someone jumping in a swimming pool?

Gemma Gilroy, Rory's principal teacher in pupil support,

gives him one-to-one lessons when the classroom gets too much.

We're going to look at the iPad.

You've got an iPad because what keeps happening?

Oh.

What we need to do with the paper, Rory?

We need to move it away.

Literally about three and a half weeks of him being here,

it was just like an explosion. The lid...

It was like the lid had come off and for him...

it was terrifying.

You know, because his Tourette's was changing.

And, for us, it was like, "Wow!"

-What colour?

-It's white.

-Not everyone's allowed to be white, Rory, cos you don't want...

-Racist!

What colour do you want him to be?

'The worst-case scenario would be

'that he isn't getting education that he deserves.

'And what Rory does is he comes

'and he tries really, really, really hard, and he's a bright boy.'

You're a mean old fart!

Sorry.

'We are learning about Tourette's as Rory's learning about Tourette's.'

And we are learning with him.

And it's terrifying for everybody, because we can't predict this.

We don't know what it's going to look like on an everyday situation.

But what we do know are the things that trigger it.

So if we can keep him calm,

if we can keep him interested in what he's doing,

that all makes the difference.

BUZZER RINGS

So you have English.

Listen. If it doesn't work out in class, what are you going to do?

-A shite!

-What are you going to do?

A shite.

And a piss.

And have diarrhoea.

-Um, come back here.

-Yes, you are.

OK. Good to know.

Tourette's is often at its worst during adolescence.

Shot the motherfucker!

Donald Trump is a prick!

John Davidson is now 45

but, at 16, he too struggled with the ferocity of his Tourette's.

Fuck!

Hey!

My mum sucks fucking muckle huge, black dick!

I've got rabies!

John has been helping others with Tourette's in his local area.

He has recently started meeting with Rory.

'You know, he was really struggling in school,

'and I'm going to help him make the right decisions.'

You know, to make his life in school a little bit easier.

Fuck off!

John has been the subject of three documentaries.

When he was first filmed,

he was struggling with life at secondary school.

Hey! Fuck!

When I first started at school,

I was getting teased a lot because I blinked.

And then, from then on...

..I never used to want to go to school. I just...

Because of getting teased.

Cunt! Fuck!

And, um...

People just look at me and give me a funny look.

They used to always come after me and shout things and that.

And I knew instantly, as soon as I'd start speaking to them,

they'd just laugh or say, "Oh, aye."

You know?

Believe you.

Oh, you done it again!

Hey! Hey, fucking fat John, off he goes.

-You're shit!

-I'll fall over!

Hey, look at them pair of paedos.

Having fun?

A few weeks ago, it started being really bad at school

and I was taken out of loads of classes.

Sent down to my pupil support and that.

People think I'm a mong!

Hey! John, you sit at home, having a pokey-wokey bum wank!

You're a fat cunt!

Everyone laughing really puts me off going into school.

And I don't think they really understand how much it affects me

when I get sent out.

-TEENAGE JOHN:

-'Sometimes I just feel like everyone hates you.'

Fucking...

'Just because I've got this, I just like everyone hates you...

'I just feel like killing myself or something like that, you know?

'Feels so bad.'

Fuck off! Cunt!

-ADULT JOHN:

-'Your schooldays are supposed to be

'the happiest of your life.

'I believe that, you know,

'the way that things went for me at an early stage,

'it gave me doubts about things, doubts about who I was as a person.'

No child should have to go through that.

And if I can help others get through that period in their life,

on their journey, then I'll do it.

God fuck the Queen!

God didnae fuck the Queen!

You fucked the Queen!

You twat!

YOU'RE a twat!

'For Rory, going to school at the moment,

'it must feel like Groundhog Day.'

He's not got anything really to look forward to.

I can put my arm round Rory and say,

"It's all right, kid. I've got your back."

GREG SCREECHES

-GREG'S MUM:

-OK.

It's all right.

All right.

OK?

HE SCREECHES

HE CRIES

In 1999, Greg Storey's parents started a video diary

to record the onset of his tics.

Why is this not helping?

Nothing is helping.

We'll not give up trying, though, will we? We'll find something...

HE CRIES

You going again?

-ADULT GREG:

-'Tourette's is a curse.

'It really feels like it when you're little, and I've been through it.

'The absolute hell and the rejection by people and...

'That can break people.

'But your Tourette's can be a blessing as well.'

If you learn how to harness what the output of the Tourette's is,

to use it for different things in your life,

you will find you can excel at things you never thought you could.

Greg is now 23.

He was first diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome

at the age of six.

I just remember the absolute hell I went through,

not just at a young age when I was diagnosed,

but in secondary school, in college.

The amount of bullying I received...

If I'd have told myself that I would be doing

all of the stuff I am now,

I think my younger self would have told me to sod off.

GREG SCREECHES

SCREECHING CONTINUES

At the age of eight,

Greg was unable to control or manage his tics.

GREG SCREECHES

-TEACHER:

-All right, then.

It felt like my head...

Eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh...

was bulging with pain and was... But...

And the pain was starting from my little head

and going to the edges of the room.

And it really hurt.

At school, Greg discovered that music provided relief from his tics.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Where are we going now?

-Up there.

-For what?

-My cornet lesson.

Shall we go do my cornet lesson? Cos it will be starting.

So we'll have to get my cornet.

Here we go, then. Let's have some Es. After three. One...

-GREG TOOTS

-(Hang on.)

One, two, three.

CLASS PLAYS "E"

When he played an instrument, his tics vanished.

In his teens, Greg took up the drums.

When I drum, I have total relief from my Tourette's.

So I thought, "How can I replicate that mentally?"

I'd learned that, if I was able to imagine myself drumming,

I had this relief.

It came to the point where I could bring on this...

what I call the drumming state of mind

and have, at the back of my head - here, I imagine it -

me just sat there, playing away.

And then I am able to just go about my daily routine.

You know, for me, that's incredible.

I mean, I've learned to harness my Tourette's.

I've learnt to conquer it.

I can walk down the street and I'm not shouting, "Chicken!"

I'm not shouting some dead baby joke.

Greg seems to have got a good grasp on his tics.

Some people have got an amazing ability to suppress.

Others, like myself...

Pfft, almost next to no ability to suppress, you know?

Fuck you!

Pfft!

Somebody smells like shite!

John and Gemma are working together to increase understanding

of Rory's Tourette's in the local community.

-So where is the police station about? This way?

-Yeah.

-Straight up?

Johnny Davidson!

This morning, they're taking Rory to meet the police.

-GEMMA:

-'Hopefully, doing the work that we're doing with him,

'the community will understand this condition

'and they'll know who he is.'

You know, that's our aim, is that he can live his life here,

and wherever else he needs to be, as best possible.

It'll be interesting for the Jedburgh community this morning.

Hey! Fuck!

Oh, Christ... It's Mrs Nagel-bagel. Fuck!

Hello? Could I speak to the duty officer, please?

As a child, John had trouble with the police

because of his Tourette's.

My son was approached in the street by a police officer,

who swore at him because my son had used foul language.

No, he won't hurt anybody.

FUCK OFF!

HEY! (Oh, God.)

HE SIGHS

-You can have a seat, John, it's fine.

-Yeah, John.

Hello, Rory. How are you doing?

-Good, thanks.

-Oh, it's cold, isn't it?

I'll sit on the coffee table.

-LAUGHING:

-You can sit on the coffee table, that's fine.

You sit on the coffee table, then, you fat cunt. You might break it.

-Ah!

-Oh, sorry! You all right? Sorry. You all right?

Rory's parents have come along in support.

And so has John's adopted mum, Dotty.

Don't take me away! I didn't do it!

I raped somebody's mum!

-God's sake.

-Right.

I've never met you before, so I'll introduce myself,

and just do wee round of introductions, if you want.

Where did your eyebrows go?

THEY LAUGH

I don't know.

I'm Gina Dixon, I'm the Locality Officer for the school,

so I work quite closely with Gemma.

And we thought it would be a good idea to obviously meet Rory.

Well, I'm Tom Quinn, I'm the Community Sergeant...

That's fascinating, isn't it?

I work with Gina and that just means I can tell the rest of

my community officers so we can look out and speak to Rory on the street.

Bunch of wankers! I'm Rory and I'm a wank stain!

HE HOOTS

Previously, when I was younger, I didnae have any of this.

I never had the opportunity to explain and, you know,

try and make my life a little bit easier in the community.

-And that's basically what we're trying to do for Rory.

-Wank!

On a daily basis, apart fae the swearing, what kind of things...?

Why don't you talk about that?

-RORY:

-I might accidentally wank someone off!

RORY BLOWS WHISTLE

-GEMMA:

-It's about people becoming so aware of him in his community.

-Yes.

Everything that we are doing, in terms of through school, is about

educating the people in the school but also the place that he lives in.

You know, and there's stress,

so the moment that happens, we see more tics.

-Mm-hm.

-But it's just about...

And the other thing that's really important

is Rory's tics are quite suggestible,

so if we talk about certain things, he will start ticcing those things.

Wank, wank, wank! Ticcing those things.

If we talk about John,

-he may tic some of John's tics.

-Johnny Davidson!

So, when he's out in the community, if people are saying to him,

"Go and do this, go and do that,"

you know, it's quite likely that his tics will answer that.

-But they dinnae have any control over these tics either.

-Yep.

That's what people don't understand. So, it is alarming.

It can offend quite a lot of people.

With Tourette's, people say, well, what can I expect?

Spit it oot, Johnny, ya wank face!

JOHN SPITS

-Expect the unexpected.

-Mm-hm.

If it sounds really vulgar, it's going to be a tic.

It's actually the last thing that you want.

Fuck the police!

They're looking at everything and picking it up and that's when

they'll pick up on somebody that's overweight.

-Yeah.

-Or they'll pick up on...

Fat bastard! Fat bastard! Fat bastard!

What's the word I'm looking for?

For something that somebody's sensitive about. And it'll come out.

They don't want it to, but it will come out.

-Ugly weirdo! Fat bastard!

-And that's the suggestive part.

When you see the police, when you see us, what do you think?

Oh, fuck! Don't arrest me! I promise it wasn't me!

I didn't do anything wrong!

It's also good for Rory's confidence and his, you know,

different anxieties he has, being out in the community,

to know that he's got the support of the police.

And that you guys have got the support of Mum and Dad.

I can get away with murder!

And the school as well. And it's about working as a team.

Doing this is about the police knowing him but, also,

-he needs to make the right choices in the community.

-Absolutely.

And it's just about reinforcing that for him as well.

And we can't move away from the fact that he is 12. And he's...

Miss Gilroy doesn't have any sense of humour.

That's why she's laughing at that. She's a fuckin' Hibee fuck-face!

-Wank stain!

-Anyway...

-JOHN:

-You should never have told him you were a Hibs fan.

-GINA:

-I'd just like to thank yous all for coming in.

Did Rory compile any questions, do you know?

No, I didn't. Why have you got so small eyebrows?

-Have you got any questions about this, Rory?

-Not really.

-JOHN:

-Have you got any worries

about when you're out and about in the community?

Don't arrest me if I rape someone. It's an accident.

-GEMMA:

-Thank you, Gina. Thank you so much.

-Not a problem.

You're welcome, Miss Gilroy, ya old bat!

Oh!

I do think he struggles with the things that come out his mouth,

you know, and he doesn't mean it.

He doesn't... he genuinely doesn't mean it.

-Let's go! Run away!

-Get back in there with that, you monkey!

Do you know that's an offence to nick a police hat?

Oh, no, I'm so scared, ya fanny-face!

-All right, ya pair of wank stains?

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

'People will argue, "Oh, but they said it, they obviously mean it."

'It's come into their head.

'They didn't ask for it to come into their head.'

When he sees things, we can filter that information out,

he can't do that, so it's out.

And I do think, like, he gets embarrassed about it.

He doesn't...he doesn't want to be hurting people's feelings.

Pakistanis and Iraqis!

It's interesting when you see John and Rory together.

The initial is, like, they'll just tic off each other's tics.

But then they calm down and John has a huge influence on Rory.

Rory!

Is Rory here?

John regularly gives Rory advice on how to deal with his Tourette's.

What about, like, other pupils?

You've not had anybody, like, take the mickey or anything like that?

-A few times.

-A few times.

-But it's not like, nothing is done to...

-Not nasty?

-Yeah, nothing's done... It's just everyone laughing.

Yeah, yeah.

I used to get angry with people that...they would say,

"Oh, I don't understand, just get away, I cannae be bothered with it."

And it's like, I used to think, you know,

it's not that you don't understand, it's sometimes it's more like...

-You can't be bothered understanding, ya bastard!

-Exactly.

Words right out my mouth, pal.

I think sometimes people can't be bothered to take the time

to try and understand, which is...rubbish, sometimes, but...

-You've got a receding hairline.

-I have.

I've got a V, I've got a widow's peak.

Freckle on your speckle!

Do you feel confident enough to be able to explain to people...

If someone was to turn round and, you know, keep looking,

would you be confident enough to say, what would you say to them?

-If it happens, I just say, "Sorry, I've got Tourette's."

-Good.

Sometimes I'll hit people

or I'll shout nasty things but I really don't mean it.

That's really good that you've got the confidence to do that.

Cos, I mean, I know a lot of people with Tourette's,

and sometimes adults as well,

they find it really difficult, you know, to explain to people,

without getting angry or upset and it's like, you know, in a way,

-there's no point in getting angry, really, is there?

-Nah!

-RORY LAUGHS

-Tight build-up of pressure...

Shit, shit! Cunt! Fuck, fuck, fuck!

-Shit, shit, shit!

-..in your chest. And...

-Hello there!

Then, see after you've had a tic like that, how do you feel?

-A bit better.

-Because it's got out? Aye.

If I suppress them, it builds up in here.

It feels like really big stress.

And then I have to let it out at home,

which gives my dad and my mum quite a hard time.

Erm, so, that's quite bad.

GREG SCREECHES

Like Rory, Greg also had an explosion of tics

at secondary school.

GREG SCREECHES

The next lesson, you can make a note of that in your planners,

distance time graphs, velocity time graphs...

GREG SCREECHES

I can have up to 1,000 a day. 1,000 or more a day, on average.

And that's on, in a sense, a good day.

Let's have your cards held up quickly, please.

-Ready, Steady, Cook!

-Right, good, Matthew. It is false.

-Can you tell us why?

-Cook! Ready, Steady, Cook!

Greg did well at school. He's graduated from university

and is living away from home in Stoke-on-Trent.

The way that my converter works

is it learns from repeat calculations...

Greg has recently started his own business.

It's mainly based around very high-level tech and software

and the main piece of software that we're looking at,

at the moment, is something I invented

that actually improves the speed of computers.

And we're looking, you know, to start selling it and pushing it

out into the market, if we possibly can.

Greg has created the software based on a language of symbols

that he came up with as a child.

The language allows me to perceive computing code in different ways.

And now, it's allowed me to do things in computers that,

you know, most people can't do with normal code.

He invented the language

as a way of communicating with his own Tourette's.

I started this back when I was little,

when I was first diagnosed with the Tourette's.

Being bullied and being called a freak and insane

and, you know what kids are like, really, really hurt me.

So, I started to come up with this way of communicating with myself

in what I found was my own language.

It's quite interesting how the Tourette's inspired that

and the Tourette's created that through its own

almost malicious intent of trying to destroy my life at an early age!

That's how I feel it did.

And it's now come back to change my life totally.

Greg is in London for a key meeting to try to get investment in

his software business.

It's sometimes overwhelming and I do get stressed about it,

I do tic before going into these meetings.

But realising when a tic is coming and increasing that strategy,

mentally thinking, "Right, OK, let's improve that drumbeat, let's try

"and make it as close to physically doing it, mentally, as possible."

So why don't you just start off with just like an intro

into sort of what you're doing,

what you've invented and what you're intending to do with it?

So, it's actually using the current hardware

that you have to the full...

-its full capabilities.

-Yeah, yeah.

So, but you're obviously storing quite a lot of stuff in cache,

I mean, does that mean that you're using more memory than

-a conventional approach?

-No.

-So, why's that?

-GREG COUGHS

-Excuse me. This is...

This is where the, it gets rather complicated. So, I...

-Could you do a simple version?

-Yeah, I'm going to try to!

I created a symbol language, it's based on emotions.

There are 145 emotions, each emotion has a 26-letter calc, alphabet.

You add that all up, that's 3,770 symbols.

The rule of the alphabets is you can combine one and one other

symbol only, to create a composite emotion,

so you could feel angry and sad at the same time, etc.

That makes 14,212,900 possible symbols.

All right, I think I vaguely understand that.

So, from a business perspective, where do you think you can take

this over the next year or so, in terms of...?

Well, really, we need to build a team, a bigger team of coders.

From our calculations, what we think we need to make this succeed,

if we were to function for a year on our current estimates,

-it's about 1.2 million.

-OK.

'My ambitions for the business are really to change the world.'

I want to one day, people look back on me, when I'm dead and gone,

and say, "Wow," you know,

"we're still using something that he invented."

It's a bit of a different start to the year and I'm really

-excited about it.

-Good morning!

And I'm delighted that John Davidson

has agreed to come along this morning.

John's done an absolutely outstanding amount of work in

raising awareness of Tourette's and, you know,

when the first documentary came to screens, people weren't...

John's talking to all the staff at Jedburgh Grammar to ensure

that Rory is included in every aspect of school life.

I don't often go into schools unless I'm doing Tourette's input

but every time I come into a school, my stomach churns,

simply because of

some of the things that went on for me at school, the way I was treated.

Your school life should be the happiest years of your life

but, unfortunately, for me, it was the worst years of my life.

Nobody knew how to make it right for me, so in the end,

the education system gave up.

'When I was at school, I didn't have any respect from anybody.'

I didn't have any understanding.

But now, it's almost like I've reversed that role.

And I'm now in a position to teach the teachers.

One key thing when you have Tourette's syndrome is,

"I feel different."

And it's about us as adults, us as teachers and peers,

to make Rory feel that he is just like everybody else.

'It makes me feel very proud of what I've achieved in my life up to now.

'For so long, I didn't know who I was,

'I didn't know what my purpose in life was.'

I finally kind of clicked, "This is what I want to do,

"I want to go and help people."

He will develop, he will enjoy being at school and I'm quite

confident that, for a start,

you guys sitting listening to me today, are committed

to making this lad's school life as easy

and as beneficial as you possibly can.

And that he is part of what you have here at Jedburgh Grammar.

It's really nice to have someone that supportive of me.

Fuck, shit, balls!

And he's been really supportive.

Hi, Rory, are you all right, son? This is the hero. Man of the moment!

Eh? You all right?

Growing up can be hard for everyone -

we've all obviously been through it -

but for Greg Storey, our next guest, it's been a real challenge...

In the search for new investment,

Greg's been asked in to Radio Stoke to talk about his new business.

And he was told by his teachers that he'd never amount to anything.

-Oh, ho-ho! How wrong they were!

-They were very wrong.

Greg is with us now in the studio.

-Hello, Greg.

-Hello!

When people told you things like that,

how do you feel about that now?

Do you feel as though, in a way, that that pushed you on?

It definitely pushed me to do what I do now.

You now have your own company with a partner, don't you?

The business is expanding quite rapidly.

Are we all going to be working on computers, then,

that you've helped to speed up, in the future?

That...that would be the preference!

I haven't noticed you tic at all.

For a man with Tourette's, you're letting us down. To be honest!

-GREG LAUGHS

-I mean, the reason

I'm not ticcing now is I...

imagine myself drumming.

So, like, at the moment, I'm playing a very heavy rock song in my head.

-Seriously?

-You're drumming right now, then?

Yeah, I could tell you exactly what bar I'm on.

But it has allowed me to think on other levels as well.

'The problem comes down to people saying,

'you cope with it so well, are you sure it hasn't just gone away?'

I can't just say, "OK, well, give me a minute, I'll stop what I'm doing

"mentally and have been doing mentally for years."

If I do that, my Tourette's comes back in full swing within,

you know, an hour or so.

It really is like turning off a switch.

GREG SCREECHES

'People turn around and say, "Well, your Tourette's has faded,"

'or, "You never had Tourette's in the first place."

"That's not a real thing," I've heard that before.

"Tourette's isn't a real thing."

GREG WHOOPS

There's lots of things that they call me and that, I mean,

they say I'm a faker.

I don't think they've really understood.

I think they thought I was just making it all up.

Which, really, I didn't...feel very good about, but...

Hey! Fuck off!

Good morning!

John works as the caretaker

at the Langlee Community Centre in Galashiels.

Get up!

He's worked there since he was 21.

Get it packed away in your pocket before you lose it.

Put it in your pocket.

Fucking hard.

HE SHOUTS

Gie us a kiss.

Piss off! Liam, you prick.

Pardon me.

Watch your manners now.

Shut up, you echoing git.

I've got a boyfriend called Susan Gibson.

HE SHOUTS

Since 2002, John's organised a camp.

Later today, 30 people with Tourette's syndrome

and their families will be coming to the centre for the weekend.

Martin McShagger.

Hey!

'It's almost like, inadvertently, I've dedicated my life to helping

'other people with Tourette's.

'It's just something that I love to do.

'It makes me feel really, really good.'

SHOUTING

Your mam's got fleas.

I keep telling her, if she shaved her bush, she wouldn't have.

The families are all staying under one roof.

SHOUTING

On John's advice,

Rory's parents have brought him to Tourette camp.

He's never been around so many people with Tourette's at once.

He probably will cope fine.

He will feel totally at home, he'll be more relaxed.

Take control of yourself, boy.

Hey, get your glasses off!

BARKING

One ticcer sets off other tics. It's almost like a domino effect.

HE BARKS

Kill the dog!

Put it out of its misery.

Greg Storey!

-How are you doing, mate?

-I'm good, you?

-Good to see you, buddy. You all right?

-Yeah.

Greg last came to Galashiels at the age of 11.

It's brilliant to see you. You're looking well.

I remember the last time I was here, I was...

You were a boy, and you're a man now,

with a ginger beard.

-You must have the ginger gene.

-Oh, don't...

I've got the ginger gene as well but mine's going a bit grey now.

SHOUTING

Right, everyone, sit on your arse!

Over the weekend, John has organised a series of social events

and Tourette-based workshops.

No matter. I'm not getting stressed, I'm not stressed.

MAN SHOUTS

Olly-olly-olly, tits on your trolley!

Johnny.

I'm a pest.

I'm a sex pest. I'm a paedophile.

Right, first of all,

I'd like to welcome you all to Galashiels today, this weekend.

First off, I need to go through some of the housekeeping stuff.

First and foremost, the most important one is fire safety.

PEOPLE CALL OUT

-We've all signed in.

-Cock.

If you hear the fire alarm going off at any time...

MAN HOOTS LIKE FIRE ALARM

..you make your way out the nearest fire exit

and you make your way to the big car park

in the front of the building, all right?

-The workshops this morning will consist of...

-Fuck off.

..photography...

Pornography!

-For the kids, we're planning to take...

-Paedophile.

..all the kids down

-to give children...

-A wank.

..kind of like an army assault course-type experience.

-We'll be there for two hours.

-Ooh.

For the drumming workshop, when we leave here, you follow Greg.

Greg, can you stand up so we can all see?

-Greg.

-All right?

-Chicken Boy! Chicken Boy!

-Get on with it, John.

-I am. I'm just trying to suss out what's going on.

When do we kiss?

Ice cream cone!

Right, does anyone have any questions?

Can you repeat all that, cos I wasn't listening? Ha!

No. Ha-ha!

Dickhead!

Hairy tits!

-Heil Hitler!

-Hitler.

-He killed the...

-I'm going home!

'I think people come along to these weekends

'and they are made to feel special

'and they are made to feel that they belong.

'When you're at home in your own hometown'

there's no-one else around that you think are like you

or that can relate to you.

And it is quite a lonely existence.

In one of the first workshops,

Greg will share his technique to manage his Tourette's.

-Come on, then, let's go.

-What's it like being a chicken boy?

Very fun.

Over the years, Greg's tics have changed.

New tics could appear at any time.

Chicken. Oh, sorry. Chicken. Chicken.

'My tic just said "chicken" one day, and it stuck.'

I will never understand why it said it.

I remember it said it in Maths the first time. Yeah.

Chicken!

-Chicken! Chicken. Chicken, chicken.

-Good boy!

So everyone needs a pair of drumsticks.

So, the aim of today is to basically teach you guys

some cool ways I've learned to, like, control my Tourette's.

The way I usually control it is by drumming in my head,

imagining I'm drumming.

The main thing I want to get everyone to understand is,

-your Tourette's may be there all the time.

-Tourette's!

And it may be very hard and very stressful to go through,

but regardless of drugs, regardless of anything else,

or other people,

you have the ability in what you'll do in your everyday life

to combat that...to a way that will give you the relief that,

you know...

I myself can walk down the road now and walk past, you know,

shall we say, some very triggering things

in the sense of my Tourette's.

How about chickens?

Oh, I've walked past chickens and not shouted "chicken".

I mean, for me, that's an incredible thing.

-As much as I like chicken.

-I'm going to become Duck Boy.

-Duck!

DRUMMING

BOY SCREECHES

I'm just sat in the back of my head,

playing that over and over again, imagining it.

That is fucking awesome.

Do it again, pal.

Mate, you should go on the X Factor with your stupid wee skills, pal.

'He's going through the stage of starting to grow up a bit,

'you know, and secondary school and things like that.

'For anyone with Tourette's, it's one of the worst times there is, really.'

And....growing up, my Tourette's exploded.

It was awful.

Chicken.

Like, the simplest fill, it's called...

-Shut it, you wee fanny balls!

-Now, now.

-Shut up!

Any volunteers?

-Right, OK, so...

-I'm an idiot.

Hic, hic, tic. Now I'm ticcing.

-Right, left. Right, left.

-Tic!

-Right, left.

Right, left.

That's it, yeah. Just got to keep it going.

Ooh!

Concentrate.

Ah, fuck, fuck!

'He is not sure of his own Tourette's as well.

'You can tell there's some tics that shock him,

'just the look on his face, or how he reacts,

'cos after some tics, he carries on, and it's fine.'

And then others, he has a sort of, a little bit of a pause

and then he'll tic again. And he's, "Oh..."

And I used to have that. I mean, new tics spring up every day.

So when one does, it can be a bit shocking.

Allahu Akbar!

I'm not a nice person. Watch out, I'll batter your families.

Batter your families!

Greg's a wanker. Chicken fucker.

Greg's a fucking faggot!

After supper, John has organised what's fast becoming a tradition...

Would you, could you!

..the camp quiz.

Johnny done that to you.

OK, question number one.

Fuck off!

MAN CHANTS INDISTINCTLY

-Can you name two bands...

-Fuck off!

..who have had hits with "Rio" in their titles?

Shut the fuck up! Number two.

Jimmy Savile.

Jamie Oliver wanking!

Where are the next Olympics to be held?

Bryan Ferry's house!

LAUGHTER

The second of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier is to be called?

Purple Rain!

Which famous singer is suing the BBC?

-Michael Jackson.

-He's dead.

-Gary Glitter.

-Gary Glitter up the shitter.

-Tinie Tempah.

-Gary Lineker!

Gary Lineker?!

LAUGHTER

It's Jimmy Savile!

I think you need a table all to yourself!

LAUGHTER

Somebody hit the little shit.

'There's a lot of laughs and a lot of giggles

'and I think it's good to be able to laugh,

'especially when all us ticcers are together.'

And to laugh, we get so much therapy from laughing.

You know, it makes us feel so much better.

And in a way, it's a kind of release and helps us to cope.

It's a coping mechanism.

Olly-olly-olly, tits in your trolley!

HE MUTTERS

Tourette's - fun for all the paedophiles!

-There's six lesbians in this room.

-And one of them's you!

Projectile discharge!

HE SHOUTS

The workshop's called Camera Creativity Workshop...

The sessions provide ways in which those at camp

can share their techniques to help manage their tics.

My wife bought me a camera

and I found out that by...just by pure luck

that being creative helps me with my tics.

If you come up for a camera...

All I'm asking you, if it's got a strap,

please put it round your neck.

-Strap on!

-Strap on, strap a dick to me!

-Camera, camera!

-Put it round your neck, please.

Right, if you all want to follow me...

Fuck off! Hey. Cunt!

Right, come on, folks. Hey! Come on.

HE WHISTLES

It's a bit of a little height round here. Ha!

Surprise, motherfucker.

As we're walking, just start looking around,

trying to find something that inspires you.

-Mouse's arse!

-Hey! Cunt!

Fuck off! This is a shit, shit workshop.

I don't know whether you'll actually silhouette out

if you take a shot from here, Sam.

Whether he'll actually... You'll get a silhouette of him.

Your sexy mother! Sorry.

'When you're taking photographs with a camera, the tics aren't present.

'It's like from the outside of the room,

'they're not even knocking on the door.'

It's like balm and it's soothing so...

Hey, hey! And that's my mum.

-HE WHISTLES

-It's not.

HE LAUGHS

-Shit. Hey, hey, hey.

-HE BLOWS RASPBERRY

Fuck the Pope.

HE BARKS

You all right, kids? Paedophile park!

Fucking does my head in.

Hey, hey! Hey!

And if you zoom right in...

If I'm concentrating on something a lot, I'll...

..be less ticcy cos I'm not thinking about it that much.

So it's good to keep concentrated when I'm doing something.

Get right in close, as close as you can.

And wait...

SHUTTER CLICKS

See what I mean?

Do some sparring.

Have you tried any techniques with your tics?

-A few, yeah.

-A few? What like?

Like keeping my arms down like that when I'm trying to punch.

-Yeah.

-Um...trying to, like...

Keep my tongue at the back of my...

-But none of them work, really.

-No.

I think ones that DO work, cos if I'm stood next to somebody,

I'll go like that and grab their boobs to a woman

and, like, you can get in big trouble doing that,

so what I do, I'll make sure I step...

If I've got the feel that I'm going to do it,

I'll just step back and it's the same if you're punching anybody.

-Hey, hey, hey!

-You fucking...!

HE BARKS

Hey! Homosexuality.

But there's lots of stuff,

and you'll find out as you get older.

You'll find your own techniques, what are the best for you.

But nobody should ever make you feel like you need to suppress.

You know, when people say to you, you know,

"Shut up, can you not shut up?", and people say,

"Right, I want you to be quiet,"

it's just the worst thing they can say, really, isn't it?

-Aye, the best thing to do is THIS!

-Fuck the Pope.

Hey, hey, hey.

We can bum him if you want? Hey!

-HE WHISTLES

-No, thanks.

Talking about ways to help my tics,

like I need to move away if I feel an urge coming,

and, um...

-Shite!

-Hey, you!

Get me a Bourbon! I'm hungry.

I want you to try and concentrate as much as you can.

I spoke to Greg and Greg thinks that you've got an ability

to learn the drums and be quite a good drummer.

So, what we want to do is we want to try and see if,

getting tuition one-to-one, it'll work.

-All right?

-All right.

So, when you go in, try and...

THEY EXHALE

-..chill.

-Have a fag.

-You could try...

-My mum's got a tight pussy.

Tight pussy! Pussy! Pussy!

Can you play me what we did earlier?

I keep hitting the...

HE SHOUTS

-Yep, that's it.

-Fuck off, broom!

-Are you having a hard time?

-Mm-hm.

You did that really well.

I mean, for me, it helps my Tourette's so much.

I think it'll do the same for you.

Yeah...

That's it.

-You've got it.

-Whoo!

Bravo section, Bravo section!

-Bravo section!

-We're going to grow up.

-Your mother.

-What the hell?

-Your mother! Your mother is fat.

-Your mother is weird.

-Line up, line up.

On the final afternoon of the camp,

John's organised a treat for the children...

-Very, very seriously, aren't you?

-We're not going to shoot you!

OK, let's get that minefield cleared, everyone, in you go!

In you go, let's go in and get that minefield cleared up!

THEY SHOUT AND LAUGH

It's absolutely amazing to watch them having a laugh and have fun.

It just makes them feel as if they're part of the majority

rather than the minority.

And of course, as we know, young Rory, I mean,

he's having an absolute ball, and I'll tell you something -

the more and more time I spend with Rory,

the more I get to see Rory without the Tourette's, kind of thing.

His personality's coming through, he's relaxing, and you know,

so often, kids, they become so isolated.

But, at a place like this,

it just goes to show that a little bit of acceptance and understanding

and they can be kids, how they should be.

Rory, come on! Get out of there, there's a bomb coming!

CHILDREN SHOUT

-This is so cool.

-What was the best bit about it?

I don't know. Just getting really wet

and knowing that I don't have to worry about it.

This is what kids should be doing.

You know, making memories when they're kids

for the rest of their lives, like every other kid.

There's some times when I just keeping thinking why...

why it has to be me and not...folk that are criminals or deserve it.

'Tourette's is me and John is Tourette's.

'So, I love being John Davidson now, yeah. I love being John.'

HE SCREECHES

Fucking crow!

It's so important that people embrace who they are,

love who they are.

When you do accept that you've got Tourette's,

then your life will start to move on and you will be able to achieve.

-Fuck off!

-See you.

Yeah, safe journey, Kim. Thank you for coming.

-Oh, you're welcome.

-See you.

Bye, gorgeous.

Brilliant to see you, pal. Give us a hug, eh?

I always get the question,

"If you could take away your Tourette's, would you?"

The Tourette's has developed my life, you know,

for the better, out of it being a very negative thing

and it's something that I always now say,

when anybody asks that question, is,

"Would you take away your Tourette's?"

And I go, "No. Definitely wouldn't."

You've just got to unlock what it allows you to do.

So, will it ever go away, Rory?

It might do, but I don't think so.

No, I don't think it will.

It probably will change. I might not have as much swearing.

I might have more swearing, but we'll just have to wait and see.