TA Adult Weekend 2023

Posted Tue 26th Sep 2023 at 14:40
by Cameron Curry

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"If you ever get the chance to go to one of Tourettes Action’s weekends, I highly recommend it!"

Hi, my name is Cameron! I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when I was 11, I’m now 22. Before now, I don’t think I’d ever engaged with any aspect of Tourettes Action. I’d always wanted to connect with the community somehow but was always too scared to. I heard about the Adult Tourettes Weekend early this year and decided to take the plunge.

I was quite nervous upon arrival – I struggle a lot with staying away from home, meeting new people, and being myself – but the staff were very welcoming, and as soon as I saw people like me, I felt much more comfortable. I find introducing myself to new people hard, so someone helped me do that which I really appreciated, and I quickly realised that everyone there was approachable, friendly, and happy to chat.

Over the weekend, there were lots of activities to get stuck into, many of which I’d never done before, so I tried to do as much as I could. The main activities included zipline, climbing, leap of faith, archery, canoeing, and kayaking. The only activity I was too scared to do was the leap of faith (climbing up a wooden pole onto a platform and leaping off the edge to grab a bar midair), but I did manage to climb most of the way up the pole. Everybody supported and encouraged one another, and the instructors were all supportive and patient. We also did some team activities and workshops – arts and crafts, cookie decorating, chewlery making, ran by people attending who wanted to share their skills – and had a campfire with marshmallows.

We had plenty of free time, too, which I used to talk to as many people as I could. I’ve had my fair share of negative interactions with people online and in life, so hearing other people’s stories and experiences was incredibly beneficial to me. Even when we weren’t talking about Tourette’s things, just being around people like me was a game changer. For a few days, I could forget about the outside world and feel normal.

I learned a lot from the people I met and learned about myself during this weekend. If you ever get the chance to go to one of Tourettes Action’s weekends, I highly recommend it! I think I really needed it.

Thank you Tourettes Action for running these events, you’re making a huge difference to so many people’s lives!

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