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Question 67: A lady that I represent in a union capacity, recently had an outburst of foul language. She says that she suffers from Tourette's Syndrome and that this a normal behavior pattern associated with her condition. Her supervisor wants to discipline her under our company's Code of Conduct Rules. I say she cannot punish her as I believe the employee falls under American Disabilities Act (ADA), and they will have to allow this as a reasonable accommodation. It does not effect her work performance. So, my question to you is this. Do you agree that she cannot be punished for this kind of outburst under ADA or not? Thank You, R.H., CO, USA.

Good afternoon sir:

I unfortunately cannot comment specifically on this situation, as I am not familiar with the particulars of it, or of the ADA (I am from north of your border, in Canada). What I CAN offer, however, is confirmation that outbursts of inappropriate language (called coprolalia) are most certainly recognized as a symptom of TS. They occur in 10-30% of individuals with the disorder overall, and is more common in individuals with more pronounced cases (more, and more involved, tics) and complex cases (other co-occuring disorders such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Mild cases of TS, and children, rarely exhibit true coprolalia (although they may IMPULSIVELY swear, which is more an aspect of ADHD than TS).

 

In terms of accountability, while it is usually very difficult to suppress symptoms, and this in itself can lead to a host of other problems, the types of interventions and accommodations I generally tend to suggest are proactive. For example, if one were to have an individual with coprolalia in a stressful position where he or she interacts with customers regularly this may simply be a "set-up"; based on knowledge of the disorder the potentially disastrous results are predictable, and so this situation should be avoided. I also tend to see an individual with TS as accountable for letting employers know what his or her symptoms and needs are, in order to avoid such situations before they occur.

 

I have a column entitled Disinhibited Thoughts, where I write about TS in the workplace. Articles you may find helpful and/or relevant to your situation are numbers 7, 8, 16, and 17. These articles can be found at www.lifesatwitch.com/dt.html

 

I hope this helps, sir. Thank you for your inquiry!
Dr. Dunc.

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