Tourette's Syndrome - Which Symptoms To Use?

This is quite a concise list of the symptoms that Tourette's Syndrome sufferers have to face, courtesy of http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/t/tourettes-syndrome#textBlock216101

I have highlighted in bold the particular tics that I am interested in using.

Simple tics

Examples of simple motor tics include:

• blinking
• head jerking
• shoulder shrugging
• facial twitches

Simple vocal tics include:

• sniffing
• throat clearing
• grunting
• tongue clicking

Complex tics

Complex tics involve larger movements or sounds. Examples of complex motor tics include:

• jumping
• touching other people or things
• twirling
• hitting or biting yourself
• making obscene gestures (copropraxia)

Complex vocal tics include:

• swearing or saying obscene words (coprolalia)
• repeating words/phrases
• saying things out of context

You will have noticed that I have strayed away from the tics that are most commonly associated with Tourette's Syndrome, in particular swearing. I think that sufferers are tarred too much with the same brush, as people do not often realise that there are far different levels of TS, each with differing levels of tics. Because of this, I think it would be too cliché to make a film about a sufferer swearing in a public place or simply shouting offensive remarks. Instead, I'd prefer to make it more subtle, in order for the public who witness the events to be more oblivious to the situation that the protagonist is in.

Close ups of facial twitches, and shudders, along with hand movements will be useful in our film, and will also provide nice cut aways which will aid the editor. I also think it will be important to record a lot of non-sync sounds, such as grunts and squeals. These provide motifs for the character and will be used to express their difficulty in handling th situation that they are in.