Life's a Twitch - Dr. B. Duncan McKinlay (Accolades

Tourette Syndrome doesn't have to control your life, you can learn ways of controlling it. So says Duncan McKinlay, B.A., M.A.Sc. who lives with Tourettes and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at U. of Waterloo. Duncan was not diagnosed with Tourettes until the age of 19, but came to understand that he had been exhibiting symptoms and trying to hide them since about age 7 or 8. Tourettes is seen as sudden involuntary physical movements (ticks) and verbal utterances (barking and swearing). This, you can imagine, can manifest into feelings of anger, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression.

Duncan no longer tries to hide his Tourettes, rather it has become his Masters thesis and Ph.D. focus. Spreading the word of what Tourettes actually is, how to recognize it early and ways to live a full life not only in spite of it, but BECAUSE of it consumes much of his time. It was during one of his many "in-service" talks, this time at Canada Mental Health Association in Milton, that I met Duncan and saw and heard Tourettes for the first time. What an amazing young man! At age 25 he is engaged to be married, working on his Ph.D. and spreading hope around what, for (some) "Touretters", can be a severely limiting (disorder). Attitude is the determining factor, not severity of symptoms. Education is what will make the difference.

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