I frequently lose my speech when I have a ‘ticcing fit’, and when this happens I usually communicate by blinking – one blink for ‘Yes’, two blinks for ‘No’ and multiple blinks for ‘Ask a different question.’ It’s not a brilliantly reliable method of communication given how much I tic-blink anyway. So when blinking doesn’t work I use a similar system, but instead of blinking I squeeze my support worker’s hand.

During a fit this evening I lost my speech and my blinks, so I attempted to squeeze Poppy’s hand in answer to a question she’d just asked. The trouble was, my arm had locked up so I couldn’t reach her hand, and that meant I had to squeeze the part of her that was nearest. This happened to be one of her breasts.

Poppy looked shocked for a moment, and then said with a grin, ‘Two squeezes – so it’s a no then?’