Jess Thom, who suffers from Tourette syndrome, wants you to laugh at her for the most simple reason. In a video explaining her reasons, Thom states, “When people meet me for the first time, lots of them don’t know how to react.”
Thom’s sentences are full of random tics and nonsensical phrases because of her Tourette syndrome. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TS is a “neurological disorder characterized” by tics like this.
Often times, people with TS feel a buildup of tension if they try to suppress the tic. These involuntary movements and words can include profanity, shouting, random movements, and expressions that could draw unwanted attention to the person.
While a natural reaction to a TS person may be to laugh, most people feel the need to hold back their chuckles for fear of offending someone like Thom. However, Thom is taking a different stance. She believes laughter is a sign that people don’t know how to interact with people who are different.
In the video, Thom explains that “two thirds of the British population…feel uncomfortable talking to disabled people. She adds that, “at the same time, recorded instances of hate crime against disabled people have increased by a staggering 41 percent in just one year.”
To fight back against hate crimes and the discomfort people might feel, Thom encourages people to be more open and to even laugh at her and ask questions. Since beginning her work with children, Thom has noticed that kids are more willing to laugh and ask questions about her condition than adults are.
She believes that, by looking the other way or by being nervous to interact with her and other people with disabilities, adults miss out on an opportunity to learn more. She says they also miss out on the ability to acknowledge the barriers she experiences every day as a person with Tourette syndrome.
Thom believes laughter is a gateway to opening a dialogue with other adults. She notes that attitude change “can happen very quickly, and it often starts with a single conversation…. As soon as we stop shying away from differences, we can start to appreciate our similarities.”
Check out the video below to see why Jess Thom wants you to laugh at her.
