Some of my friends with Tourettes have tics that are less noticeable than mine, and we’ve talked before about the dilemma of deciding when to tell other people about having Tourettes. This isn’t a decision for me at the moment, as my tics are pretty hard to miss.

But they haven’t always been as bad and I can appreciate that choosing when to explain can be tricky. Having very obvious tics probably makes it easier for me in some ways because I don’t have to have a big chat about them. They do mean, though, that they are usually the first thing people notice when they meet me. This means they generally know I’ve got Tourettes before they know my name.