A TEACHER with Tourette's Syndrome is moved by the reaction her appearance on television has sparked.
Natalie Davidson, from Droitwich Spa, has been sent messages from parents thanking her for inspiring their children to return to school.
The 41-year-old was diagnosed with Tourette's a few days before her 21st birthday after she was raped.
She was determined not to let her condition hold her back and Mrs Davidson continued to pursue her dreams of becoming a teacher.
Mrs Davidson, who has been a teacher for 20 years, recently starred in a Channel 5 documentary called The Teacher with Tourette's and shared her journey living with coprolalia.
Coprolalia is the involuntary and repetitive use of obscene language and about ten per cent of people with Tourette's display the symptom.
People with Tourette's face involuntary motor and vocal tics.
This week's documentary is a follow-up to the success of the first documentary which aired in 2020.
"Tourette's impacts my life in every single way.
"I do still get tics every single day and struggle with intrusive thoughts."
Mrs Davidson's tics can manifest as excessive blinking or head movements alongside vocal tics.
"I have been arrested for my Tourette's, thrown out of places, kicked out of the cinema, theatres and the bus.
"For someone at the start of their Tourette's journey, that could really knock their confidence.
"If that happened to a 12/13-year-old, they might not want to go out again.
"But if I can educate how police can deal with it or how schools can deal with it, it makes it easier for people.
"It is hard for someone to go out with tics but that is only the tip of the iceberg, that is the only part that people can see."
Since the initial documentary aired in 2020, she has been contacted by people with Tourette's who have been inspired to pursue teaching.
Mrs Davidson has been blown away by the response but admits the filming process was hard.
Viewers of the documentary saw Mrs Davidson writing a letter to her neighbours detailing her condition so they do not call police to report her for swearing at them.
She works full-time as a PE teacher and supports special needs students at The Kingfisher School in Redditch.
Mrs Davidson said: "The response has been massively positive, we wanted to show what Tourette's really is and raise awareness towards the cause.
"I find it hard to share such a personal story, but the impact it had and the difference it has made for people is important.
"There is such a stigma, people just think it is a swearing disease, but only one in 10 are affected by that.
"People see it as a joke disability but it is actually crippling."
The Teacher with Tourette's is available on My5.
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