Tourette’s without limitations:

Posted Thu 11th Jul 2024 at 08:47
by Adam Turton

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Recently, I’ve been given pause for reflection. Over the span of my nearly 30 years on this pale blue dot that we call home, I’ve struggled to come to terms with the impact that my Tourette’s has had on my life.

If there is anything that you take from reading this short blog dear reader, it is that you have the power and the strength within you to start accomplishing your dreams today. It is never too late.

There were many occasions, especially when I was younger, when I believed that I lived in the vice gripe of my Tourette’s. That I was held in its thrall and doomed to be unable to live a ‘normal’ life.

However, I vowed that I would never let my Tourette’s define me. I would strive against all odds to achieve that which others told me I could not. My life is a testament to the fact that it is possible to do exactly that.

I am inspired, in no small way, by my mother. She has faced incalculable odds and hardships to become the incredibly talented and successful woman she is today. Her example gave me the strength to continue when all seemed hopeless.

I was diagnosed with Tourette’s when I was 6 years old. I had just moved from the UK to America and was experiencing several mental and emotional distresses, having recently upended my entire life to move across an ocean. To put it simply, my early childhood years were not kind to me. Many of my classmates teased and ridiculed me for my differences.

Chief among those differences were the many vocal and motor tics that I could not control. I had severe motor and vocal tics that seemed to change on a weekly basis, many of which were extremely embarrassing.

I felt like an alien. Like I had missed out on the instruction manual of life and that everyone else had received a copy and had thoroughly read the chapter on “how to be a normal person.” 

Because of this feeling of isolation, I fought long and hard against the twin demons of depression and anxiety. There were many times when I came dangerously close to giving up. Despite those fears, I steeled myself and continued forward with my studies.

After a while, I noticed that I was performing well in school and that I had a particular knack for public speaking, for debate, and that I loved the theatrical nature of it all. If that wasn’t already apparent based on my writing, I’m sure it is now!  

I began to grow in confidence, I started feeling as if I was slowly starting to crack this thing called life after all. As I reached adulthood, I attended the University of Brighton and graduated with a 2:1 upper division in Philosophy, Politics and Ethics. I then moved back to America and attended law school.

For three long years I labored under the intense rigors that come with studying law and graduated from Santa Clara Law School in 2022. That same year, I took the California Bar exam. The California Bar Exam is widely regarded as the most challenging Bar Exam in the entire nation, with the New York Bar Exam being considered its closest competitor!

As I sat down to take the exam I reflected on my journey. I went from a small, scared and timid child who others had mocked and excluded, to an outspoken, bold and determined young adult. I knew that whether I passed or failed the exam, that I had defied every expectation and negative stereotype that had been thrown my way. I was nearly brought to tears by this realization.

Soon it was time to begin the exam. I put pen to paper, turned in my exam and waited…For several long months it felt like I was being held in a state of suspended animation.

On November 11, 2022, which happens to be my birthday, I received the news that changed my entire life. I had passed the California Bar Exam. On my very first attempt no less! It was also on that day that I made things official with my partner, from whom I draw immense strength and inspiration from.

Flash forward to the present day. I am now a successful Labor and Employment law attorney at one of the largest Labor and Employment law specialist firms in the country! I specialize in dealing with lawsuits which concern disability and discrimination claims.

I had accomplished all this. This came from someone who others had tried to put down and said was a loser.

The point of my story, dear reader, is not to self-aggrandize my own achievements, but rather to do much the opposite. There is nothing unique about me. I don’t have a secret superpower or a particularly brilliant brain. I just refused to give up. I refused to let my Tourette’s win and let the opinions of others dictate who I should be and how I should feel.

You have the power. You can make a difference. YOU are worthy.

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