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Life's A Twitch! Celebrating 15 years.
1998 - 2018
Life's A Twitch! Celebrating 15 years.

 

Doctor Using His Condition To Educate

CHRISTINE CROSBIE
GLOBAL TELEVISION


Wednesday, January 30, 2002: Doctor Duncan McKinlay's childhood problem has now become his biggest asset. He has Tourette's Syndrome.

In his case, it causes barks, head jerking and hopping. It's alarming at first, but Duncan's confidence quickly wins people over. It hasn't always been like this, though.

"There was no one in town to diagnose it. My family doctor dismissed it, and said Aw that's Duncan, and my parents didn't believe me. They thought I was looking for excuses for all the trouble I was getting in," he recalls.

Dr. McKinlay is completing an internship at the Bloorview Macmillan Rehabilitation Centre, working with children with brain injuries, not Tourette's. It's part of his required clinical experience to become a psychologist. It also gives the kids and their parents a chance to get to know someone with Tourette's.

"With this disorder, it's the lack of education, the lack of awareness, it's the assumptions made about, and the reactions to it that do far more damage than the symptoms ever could."

Tourettes syndrome is an inherited neurological disorder that effects nearly one in every thousand [sic] kids. Ninety-six per cent of cases are diagnosed by age 11.

The disorder can cause involuntary physical and phonic tics, ranging from barking and whistling, to head nods and shakes.

Duncan says his Tourette's is a non-issue when it comes to his work. He is able to suppress the tics while assessing patients. However, on occasion, a child or parent will notice.

"It's not surprising that people jump and react, and are taken back or laugh, or whatever they do, it doesn't make them a bad person. It just means that most people aren't born with a file in their head that says ways to react when someone barks at me."

While some people in his situation would avoid the spotlight, Dr. McKinlay seeks out opportunities to speak publicly, to educate people about Tourette's Syndrome.

"I think that every time I am doing a presentation, and i see a light bulb go off in someone else, a teacher's eye like this, and I know that some kids life just got a whole lot better. It's a bit of vicarious self healing."

To learn more about Tourette's Syndrome, visit Dr. McKinlay's website.

In Ontario, watch Health Matters weekdays on Global News at 5:30. E-mail Christine Crosbie with your questions and comments. For more stories, click here.

© Copyright 2002 Global Television

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Last updated on March 25, 2022

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