Following John Davidson’s Tourette’s tic episode at the British Academy of Film And Television Awards – where a racial slur featured on the broadcast – there was a strong social media response wrestling with the two issues.
Whilst many people affected by Tourette’s used the spotlight to share their insights and explanations as to how this was an uncontrollable event, many others were devastated by the public airing of such racist language. The BBC has apologised for allowing the incident to be part of the broadcast.
Curtin University Student Guild ethnocultural officer Max Zheng says the online discourse on this topic was as charged as the incident itself.
“What’s said, it has been said and people have been hurt by it. People still have the right to feel upset and talk about it,” they say.
Zheng is calling for more discourse and understanding from all audiences, especially in a climate where both racial and disability inequities exist.
Chief executive of the Tourette’s Syndrome Association of Australia Charlene Pinnock says there is a need for increased public discourse and education in Australia.
“It’s very hard to be heard,” she says, stressing that across all Australian schools and medical offices there is a huge lack of awareness about the condition.
Research conducted by the TSAA found that four of out five adults with Tourette’s have attempted to take their own life, with the stigma surrounding it a big part of the issue.
Austin, her son, is one of the rare Australians that suffer from John Davidson’s condition, coprolalia.
Ms Pinnock says while her son’s tics – which have included Nazi slogans, for example – can be shocking for anyone who hears them, it’s important to acknowledge the reality of the condition.
“Austin can’t be filtered out in real life, the last stigma we have in disability awareness is accepting tics, the last taboo is accepting that we are hearing people’s disabilities.”
She says her son went through various schools and medical experiences, and experienced bullying and exclusion for something he can’t control.
Ms Pinnock says she advocates through her role at TSAA to help spread acceptance of people with Tourette’s Syndrome, hoping to see a more informed and inclusive approach to dealing with people living with the condition.
