Over the weekend my 7-year-old niece Bean excitedly discussed her World Book Day costume with me. I laughed as my sister said there was absolutely no way Bean could get painted blue for school so she could go as a Nac Mac Feegle (which are characters from her current favourite Terry Pratchett books).…

Content Warning: This post includes discussion of ableism within theatre, negative depictions of mobility aid use by non-mobility aid users, and quotes from other sources that include ableist language and slurs.

Ten years ago this summer we took our first show Backstage In Biscuit Land to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.…

Today is my twelfth ‘Fitiversary’ – twelve years ago today I woke up moving about frantically and uncontrollably. I’d lost voluntary speech and was experiencing painful dystonic tics which twisted my body. These episodes had been happening on and off for a while and I’d initially referred to them as the ‘dying fish’, but twelve years ago they became a much more regular part of my life.…

When people think about what it means to require care, especially if it’s 24 hours a day as I do, they often think of it as a ‘worst-case scenario’. For me, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Having a package of support that meets my needs gives me the independence to live and work as I choose.…

Every year since Touretteshero began, we’ve created a Christmas card inspired by a festive tic. We’ve had some amazing guest artists including Jim’ll Paint It, Amber Anderson, Ben Connors and Richard Phoenix.

We usually do a big mail-out and send cards to our partners, collaborators, friends, and allies, but this year we’re doing things differently.…

Welcome to November – one of my favourite times of year! I love the smells of Autumn, the warm jumpers and the cold air. I’ve been enjoying scooting about through the fallen leaves, not even worrying too much about how they hide the potholes and kerbs.…

At the start of lockdown I was sent a short story about the experience of growing up with a parent with Tourettes by a young writer called Yaska Sahara. I found the piece incredibly moving and it was a perspective that I hadn’t encountered before so I reached out to Yaska asking if she’d be up for writing a guest post about her family’s experiences.…

It’s been a long, busy week and for a good part of it I was managing a heady mix of pain and nausea. One of these on their own I can usually cope with, but both together is overwhelming.

This week’s also been emotionally fraught for me, and I’ve been struggling with some aspects of how Tourettes impacts on me and on those around me.…

It’s the end of the month and that means it’s time to hear from resident guest blogger Serena. This month Serena’s sharing her experience of job hunting as someone with Tourettes. While job hunting is stressful for lots of people, I’m very aware of the added pressures that having Tourettes can bring.…

A month ago, at the start of lockdown, I wrote about the huge amounts of extra time and labour I was having to expend just to meet my basic requirements for safety, health, nutrition, finance and logistics.

I’m re-visiting this, 28 days later, for a quick update on how my issues have been resolved – or not – and to highlight the ways disabled people are still falling through the gaps during lockdown life.…