Last night King Russell and I were hanging out at the castle when we suddenly saw a tiny mouse dart under the fridge. Neither of us was too bothered by this, but my tics immediately started chatting to the new rodent resident.…

When my hands stopped working at the start of the year I wrote about how my carers were helping me wash and it meant I’d never been cleaner.

My hands are still not quite right but they’re much better than they were, so I’ve gone back to bathing in the way I used to –sitting by myself on the bottom of the bath under the shower, with a buzzer to call for help if I need it.…

The Winter Olympics started today, something that might well have passed me by had my tics not got involved, suggesting a flurry of new events:

“Down Hill Donkey Tobogganing.”
“Limbo Dancing on Ice.”
“Tiddlywinks in the Rain.”
“Duvet Diving.”
“Down Hill Freestyle Conga Slalom.”…

I woke up this morning, pulled up the blind and almost immediately began scolding the three big trees I can see from my window.

“Trees, why aren’t you wearing coats?”
“Trees, you’re so naked!”
“Trees, are you being nudists now?”
“Trees, you could get done for indecent exposure.”…

I went to the University of Kent this afternoon to give a talk about Tourettes, biscuits, and the power of campaigning. It wasn’t the best-attended talk I’ve given recently but it felt like the people there were really paying attention and I was glad I was there.…

Disability, like so many areas of life, has a lot of associated acronyms. Here are some examples:

SEN – Special Educational Needs
DLA (being replaced by PIP) – Disability Living Allowance (and Personal Independence Payment)
AAC – Augmentative Alternative Communication
PECS – Picture Exchange Communication System
ASD – Autistic Spectrum Disorder

There are also conditions associated with Tourettes that are most commonly referred to by their acronyms, including:

ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
ODD – Oppositional Defiant Disorder

I’ve described before how I’ve developed my own acronyms to describe different features of my ‘ticcing fits.’…

Ruth’s taken over as my regular Sunday night support worker so she was with me at the castle last night. It’s lovely hanging out with her, and our tics are enjoying a strange camaraderie too.

Her tics tend to add to mine to create new meanings.…

Leftwing Idiot often goes for a run on a Sunday (Sunday Run-day he calls it) and before heading out this morning he was doing some warm up exercises at the castle.

He did some stretches and bends, and I barely noticed.…

I noticed Poppy was rubbing her eye when we were in the park earlier. I her asked what was wrong and she told me that she’d got something stuck in it. My tics responded instantly with a barrage of questions about what the mystery object might be:

TH: Is it a grain of egg-fried rice?…