KATE and Sarah are 20-year-old identical twins who both have Tourette’s syndrome. Kate first experienced tics when she was just seven years old and Sarah first noticed her tics when she was 15 years old. Sarah said: “With both of us having Tourette’s it made it a lot easier for us to understand ourselves and each other.” The twins have not had identical experiences of Tourette’s as their tics have varied in nature and intensity at different times however, they said they trigger one another. Kate said: “Our tics are a lot more active when we’re together than when we’re apart.” The sisters are active on social media and share about their lives to educate and spread awareness about Tourette’s. For the most part, the response has been positive, however, some commenters have accused the twins of faking it. Sarah said: “If I was that desperate for attention I would not be doing this.”
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00:00Some of my tics, they're quite violent.
00:02Oh, that was right on the bone.
00:05Sorry.
00:06WHISTLES
00:07We're identical twins with Tourette's.
00:10There's a lot of things happening
00:11and people don't always have the best response to it.
00:14A woman said that I was possessed in public.
00:18Most of the reactions we get are positive.
00:21We also get a handful of really nasty ones.
00:24Without faking it, it's not cool or funny.
00:27Do you like having Tourette's or is it a barrier?
00:31Um...
00:33Hm, hm, hm.
00:35F*** off!
00:37Blah.
00:38WHISTLES
00:39Hello, I'm Kate. I'm Sarah.
00:41We're identical twins with Tourette's.
00:44LAUGHTER
00:46Even ourselves, we don't expect what each other's tics are going to be.
00:50Oh, I thought that was open. I was going to cry.
00:52People always question how identical twins are,
00:56but really it's just like having another sister,
00:58but, um, they're just a lot closer.
01:02When we're together, it's interesting.
01:04LAUGHTER
01:05We...
01:07Hm, hm.
01:08We bounce off of each other, hey?
01:10Our tics are a lot more active when we're together than when we're apart.
01:13We make ourselves laugh a lot.
01:15With both of us having Tourette's,
01:17it made it a lot easier for us to understand ourselves and each other.
01:22Having tics every day, it gets difficult to do stuff
01:25I want to do, but I love doing my make-up.
01:28Sometimes I can't even do make-up when it gets really bad.
01:32Tourette's affects my everyday life up and down,
01:35so it really depends on the type of day my tics are having.
01:42This one smells like chocolate.
01:44Oh, no!
01:46I first got tics when I was around seven years old.
01:51I first started getting tics when I was 15.
01:54I was diagnosed when I was 16.
01:58You have to wait a year to get diagnosed with Tourette's.
02:02Yeah, so they can get rid of any other things that might be causing the tics.
02:07Initially, when your tics got worse, I was very resentful about it
02:13because, for me, like, didn't feel like anyone was helping me out with my tics.
02:21We just communicated, and that's basically how I got to understand.
02:25And then my tics got worse, and, like, you had every right to be resentful towards me about it,
02:32but you were just very opening about it, and I was like, OK, we're all chill now.
02:36Some of my tics, I guess you can say that they're quite violent.
02:41Shut the f*** up!
02:42I get sore throats because I clear my throat all the time.
02:47Um, and I get a lot of allergies because I'm constantly sniffing.
02:51Oh, that was right on the bone. Sorry.
02:55Our tics increase a lot when we're together because we bounce off.
02:59And when I'm around her, she's, like, a big trigger for me anyway,
03:03so I start going to punch and hit her all the time.
03:07As you can tell.
03:10I did have a period where my tics were really out there.
03:15Um, like hers.
03:18But at the moment, they're a lot more on the chill side.
03:21Like, it's mostly just some vocalisations, um, very few motor movements.
03:30Oh, jeez, I thought you were going to hit me then. Sorry.
03:32Ow! Shouldn't have said anything.
03:35Mm-hm.
03:40Why did you want to share your experience, your story online?
03:43So, we create educational and, um...
03:47Ha!
03:48..educational and awareness videos about our Tourette's,
03:52and we put them online to spread the awareness.
03:58I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
03:59Hello, my name's Tiki Kate.
04:01I'm Sarah. This is Sarah.
04:03Um, we are going to discuss how Tourette's has affected us in our workplace.
04:09Yeah.
04:10Yeah, we've, um, worked in the same area, and we've both got Tourette's,
04:13and when we're together, they bounce off of each other a lot.
04:17So, we had to be very careful with, um, saying stuff to people
04:21and how we did different things.
04:25It confused the heck out of our co-workers initially,
04:30but they all got used to it.
04:32They're like, yeah, no, this is fine, this is normal.
04:35Yeah, they thought it was really funny.
04:38Kate's a whore and I'm not. The end.
04:41What sort of responses have you been getting to what you've shared online?
04:46Most of the reactions we get are positive,
04:49um, and a lot of people who are in the Tourette's community
04:52or have people that they know who have Tourette's
04:55respond saying, I never thought about it this way before.
04:59We also get a handful of really nasty ones.
05:02Stop faking it. It's not cool or funny.
05:05It kind of hurts that they clearly don't understand it
05:10or want to respect it enough to call it fake.
05:14Good act, girls. Fun. Love that.
05:18Jeez, people really that desperate for attention?
05:22If I was that desperate for attention, I would not be doing this.
05:25I've been approached by a woman, um, in public,
05:30and she was like, you're possessed,
05:33and she was talking to a friend about me having demons and stuff.
05:37We try to hide in the house so we're not, um...
05:42Offending. Offending people,
05:44because it's hard to explain to every single person we see,
05:47and you can't explain it to every single person.
05:50A lot of people don't want to listen to it.
05:51They just think we're being rude teenagers.
05:54It must be so exhausting.
05:56Yeah, like, right now, my neck's been moving this whole time
05:59and it's really tense.
06:02My throat's, like, gone. Mine too.
06:04A lot of people will be like,
06:06oh, but you can suppress it, so why don't you just suppress it?
06:09But it's like, suppressing it hurts after a while.
06:13Like, I can only suppress for so long,
06:15and then I need to find a way to let it out.
06:17People asking her questions as well, which is good.
06:20What was your question?
06:21Ah, one of them was just asking how did both of y'all's tics start?
06:25Was it at the same time?
06:27No.
06:29Difficult. It probably would have been better if it was.
06:31I like these questions, though, don't I?
06:32It's true.
06:33Do you like having Tourette's, or is it a barrier?
06:37Um, I personally find it a barrier,
06:40but I am working on...
06:44Making it work.
06:46That makes sense.
06:47If I had a magic pill to get rid of my Tourette's today,
06:50I don't think I would take it.
06:52I think that I have gained so much insight from having it
06:55and that I'm able to help other people gain insight into my life with it.
07:00I feel that, too.
07:01As much as I struggle with tics,
07:04I wouldn't want to get rid of them either.
07:08We'll go see if Blair's room will take the dogs on a walk, eh?
07:11Sure.
07:12LAUGHTER
07:16I live with my partner, Blair.
07:20We met at Tourette's camp.
07:22Serious TikTok, I think it's just a great way to share
07:25what she suffers with every single day.
07:27You get some judgmental.
07:28Sometimes it's hard to explain.
07:30And it's just great to have something to fall back on
07:32and say, hey, have a look at this, or watch this, or listen to this.
07:36This is a good trick to have in your back pocket.
07:39What do you hope for yourselves in the future?
07:43My main goal is to just become more accepting of myself.
07:47Um, and usually that helps when other people
07:52are generally decently accepting of my condition as well.
07:57I want to be a florist,
07:59which is really surprising considering how violent I can be.
08:03But when I'm focused, like, I can...
08:06I make really nice flower arrangements.
08:08You do. They're very pretty.
08:10Pinch!
08:11Oh, sorry. I pinched you. Are you OK?
08:14Yeah, I'm fine.
08:15Aw.
08:16Love you.
08:17LAUGHTER