An inspiring woman has developed a supportive following on TikTok as she makes videos with and about her teenage daughter to educate people on the reality of Tourette syndrome.
Jodie Lynn is a mother of three, including her daughter Nicole, who has Tourette’s. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) defines Tourette syndrome as a “neurological disorder characterized by sudden, repetitive, rapid, and unwanted movements or vocal sounds called tics.”
Nicole also has a functional neurological disorder (FND), which causes “abnormality in how the brain functions,” according to the NIH.
Nicole started developing physical and vocal tics just before her 14th birthday.
“Before my tics started, I had a life like any other 13-year-old,” says Nicole in an episode of Truly’s web series, Born Different. “Life is so much more different than what it was.”
Nicole is a bright young woman who keeps a smile on her face and is great at making her family laugh. Despite Nicole’s ability to maintain life as an average teenager, her mom, Jodie, began filming TikTok videos that would highlight the ups and downs that come with having Tourette’s.
In one of her videos, Jodie mentions that she wanted to highlight how Nicole and her tics can range from being “adorable to terrifying, and from heartbreaking to horrific.”
“I’m trying to show all the sides of Tourette’s,” says Jodie.
TikTok; pictured above is Jodie in one of her videos
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Jodie also mentions that before she had a daughter with Tourette’s, she made the common assumption that the disorder only involved people “just shouting and swearing.”
Jodie’s videos often show Nicole doing every day activities by herself or with her family and provide ways for their viewers to see how her tics appear during different situations.
For example, one video shows their family seated at the table for dinner. While they eat, Nicole has occasional tics that involve eating from other plates, whistling, dropping her silverware, throwing her arms up, nodding her head, etc.
Although the family is used to it, and the meal seems to go on just fine, Jodie does point out in her captions that the disorder “can make simple tasks near impossible” when the tics are active.
Jodie also is often answering questions that TikTok viewers ask her in the comments by creating response videos.
For instance, when a viewer asked if Nicole can swim while she’s having tics, Jodie responded by filming Nicole in the pool with her family, experiencing some tics but still having a good time.
Jodie adds additional information in the captions for viewers, mentioning that Nicole is supervised by an adult in the pool and goes to the shallow end if she feels like her tics are getting out of hand.
Although Jodie and Nicole have lots of support from followers, the internet can still be an ugly place. In the Born Different episode, Nicole spoke about how some commenters claim that she is faking her Tourette’s for attention.
“Of course, trolls are gonna be there,” says Nicole in the video. “There are, of course, going to be loads of people that don’t believe me or think that I’m faking it for some sort of attention. But there’s kind of a point where you don’t need to care what people say.”
Despite the occasional internet troll, the family continues to receive love and even thanks online. TikTok users appreciate the opportunity to see how a modern teenager and her family live with Tourette’s while trying to deflate any harmful stigmas around it.
We wish Nicole, Jodie, and their family all the best!
To view Jodie’s TikTok videos, visit the link here.
@jode599 Reply to @traciegledhill
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