Last week I spoke at TEDx Albertopolis, an event exploring the relationship between art and science held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. As an organisation TED is dedicated to sharing ideas. A key part of their ethos is that videos of their talks are made available online. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, which means they can be freely shared and reposted.

The video of my talk is now available on YouTube. I was excited to watch it because my memory of actually giving it is quite blurred.

I was particularly struck by the first comment that was posted about the video.

Videos that relate to Tourettes often have a tendency to attract negative or thoughtless comments. But the question posed by SoMEoNEx925 was original and thoughtful. TED aims to change attitudes by sharing ideas and I believe encouraging people to ask questions is a key means of doing this. It’s great the talk’s already generated such an interesting question within just a few hours of being uploaded.

In answer to your question SoMEoNEx925 – yes I do tic in my dreams, but obviously I can’t say if this is true for everyone with Tourettes. When I was asked this question once before I wasn’t sure about the answer. I had a vague idea that I did have tics in dreams, but it wasn’t something I’d thought about so I couldn’t be certain. A few days later I had a dream that answered the question and since then I’ve been aware of my tics featuring in lots of other dreams too.

If you’re interested in knowing more about Tourettes and my experience of it, check out more questions and answers in the FAQ.

Before starting Touretteshero I thought changing attitudes was a long-drawn-out process, but I’ve learnt that people’s attitudes can change very quickly and that it often starts with a simple conversation or question.

This matters for two big reasons:

• Firstly, increased understanding makes a tangible difference in the day-to-day lives of people with Tourettes and their families.

• Secondly, stereotypical representations of Tourettes overlook the real humour, creativity and complexity of the condition. This means people without tics can easily be unaware of their creative potential.

Please share this video with anyone you think would find it interesting, and do ask any questions you might have too.

Finally please do browse and enjoy my tics and feel free to use them as inspiration for your own creativity.