Melina Malli (PhD student) and Prof Rachel Forrester-Jones have recently published an article looking at the attitudes of adolescents towards their peers with Tourette’s syndrome (Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities). The article is available on the Tourettes action blog page.
Abstract: A high percentage of children and adolescents with Tourettes Syndrome report that they have experienced bullying, also social exclusion and isolation. Young people without Tourettes also report that they would be less willing and more reluctant to interact with people with Tourettes Syndrome on some occasions. However, youth without Tourettes have never been asked what they know about the condition and why they would exclude an individual with Tourettes Syndrome from their social group.
Our study looked into how tic-free adolescents view youth with Tourettes Syndrome; what they knew about the condition and their attitudes towards their peers with the Syndrome.
The Tourettes action page also has an inspiring video looking at how young people deal with this.