Involuntary Notion

Tourette's syndrome is not what you think.

by R. Bradley Maule

"Yeah! Piss out your ass right onto Kyle's mom's fat fucking Jew face!" he blurted. "Oh goodness, excuse me. Jeez, that was a bad one. Welp, gotta run." As he left, he winked to his new friend: "Isn't having Tourette's awesome?"

South Park has thrived on embracing the taboo and offending every segment of the population. So it was with great curiosity that I learned its 11th season would première with Eric Cartman deciding he had Tourette's syndrome.

Because ... well, I have Tourette's.

Most people are surprised to learn this. The general perception of Tourette's syndrome, thanks to exploitative news magazines and misinformed entertainment, is that of bursts of foul language or of involuntary herky-jerky motions. That's not entirely incorrect, but it's not exactly accurate, either.

The truth is, as little as 10 percent of Tourette's cases include the compulsive swearing, an extreme vocal tic known as coprolalia. Vocal tics and motor tics must each be present for Tourette's diagnoses. Simple vocal tics, like mine, include throat clearing and coughing. Simple motor tics, like mine, include eye blinking, neck jerking and general twitching. The more complex tics, like swearing or jumping or touching something, exhibit a far rarer case, but one also more likely to be portrayed on The Maury Povich Show.

Kanye West recently joked to Nightline that his "George Bush doesn't care about black people" comment was a fit of "baby Tourette's."

Tourette's Guy, on the other hand, has made a YouTube career out of swearing loudly on cue in an attempt at humor. He's also fat, balding and unkempt, so the Tourette's is that much "funnier."

These things are not so much offensive as they are frustrating. Perhaps the jokes would be funnier if they were more accurate.

Pennsylvania Hospital seems to agree. A program titled Understanding Tourette's and Tics is scheduled for 10 a.m. Nov. 14 at Pennsylvania Hospital's Zubrow Auditorium. Program coordinator Suzanne Reichwein says, "Tourette's has always been overlooked, probably because so many people are working and managing it well, as opposed to Parkinson's and other geriatrics, where services are needed."

"Managing it well" is the key operative there: It's manageable because it's controllable. Tics are not involuntary; their urges are. It's like having an itch — you know it's there, but if you're in mixed company, you're not going to scratch your butt. If you have Tourette's, you're probably going to hold off the socially embarrassing twitch until you have a moment to yourself.

Jim Eisenreich has managed his Tourette's well. He batted .324 in his four seasons playing right field for the Phillies and he now operates the Jim Eisenreich Foundation for Children with Tourette's Syndrome, which provides resources and information to affected families.

It's the same objective as the Tourette's Syndrome Association, really: Pennsylvania's chapter, based in Gettysburg, works with all 67 counties to provide support and services to the affected. And there's the rub: It's the unaffected who could stand to benefit from an info packet or lecture.

In South Park's defense, the episode had bits of accurate information, in the form of a therapy session and a neurologist's office. But it did little to quell the misconception.

Tourette's is not awesome. It's frustrating ... but it's manageable.

R. Bradley Maule is the editor of phillyskyline.com.