Tourettes is not an adjective. T-Shirt

Tourettes is not an adjective. It is not a word to describe someone who speaks before they think, or repeats the same point over and over, or someone who chooses to swear frequently. Tourette Syndrome is a complex neurological condition that impacts many people, young and old. For most people it lasts a lifetime and can mean living every day with involuntary physical and vocal "tics", movements and sounds that they do not want to make. Each person who has Tourettes gets a different mix of tics. Coprolalia, the uncontrollable utterance of socially unacceptable words or phrases, is just one of the many possible tics a person may have and it occurs no more frequently than any other tic. There are so many possible tics it is wrong to try and stereotype Tourettes by any one tic. People who have Tourettes often experience physical pain, injuries, bullying, exclusion, frustration, and social isolation. When you use Tourettes to describe someone who is offensive or unthinking you are implying that those are characteristics of people who have Tourettes. If the only exposure a person has to the word Tourettes is seeing it used to describe people who are offensive, unthinking, or choose to swear a lot that is what they will expect when they meet someone with Tourettes. Words matter. Please think before you speak.