"Sorry, I Didn't Mean to Kiss at You": A Descriptive Analysis of Tourette Syndrome in Interpersonal Interactions.
Adults with TS get blamed for tics that look rude—teach peers the move is neurological, not personal.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Stofleth et al. (2022) watched adults with Tourette syndrome talk with other people.
They wrote down every time a tic was mistaken for a rude or flirty move.
The team kept notes on how the adults explained their tics and how others reacted.
What they found
Strangers often think tics are done on purpose.
One man’s head jerk was read as a “kiss face” and the other person felt harassed.
Adults with TS spend lots of energy saying “sorry, that was a tic, not me.”
How this fits with other research
Channon et al. (2004) showed TS adults can read minds fine but hit the wrong key too often.
That old lab result helps us see why outsiders still blame the person: the tic looks chosen.
Coleman et al. (2023) asked young women with TS how hiding tics hurts identity; Daniel’s adults tell the same story in live talks.
Borrero et al. (2005) proved a short video can warm up college peers, yet real-life mix-ups keep happening—Daniel shows why the message must reach every setting, not just classrooms.
Why it matters
If you train staff, add a 30-second script: “Tics are neurological, not intentional.”
Post the same line on the clinic door and gym wall.
When everyone labels the movement as a tic, the client skips the apology loop and you skip the behavior-reduction plan that was never needed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Recent research has begun to explore the specific social challenges experienced by persons with Tourette syndrome (TS); however, it does not specifically address the challenges that often arise interpersonally as part of people's communicative interactions and these interactions socially construct the individual and collective well-being of all involved. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 adults who identified as having TS in order to investigate the ways in which others respond behaviorally to TS behaviors and the ways TS behaviors are misinterpreted within interpersonal interactions. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes common within participant responses. All participants reported receiving unwanted attention from others in response to their TS symptoms. Unwanted attention was further divided into six emergent subthemes, including verbal harassment, physical abuse, staring, general bullying, getting into trouble, and being kicked out. Three types of misunderstandings were also reported in interpersonal interactions: misunderstanding communicative intention, misunderstanding TS, and misunderstanding the cause of TS behaviors. Applying attribution theory, it is determined that it is ultimately the misattribution of communicative intent to TS behaviors that causes many misunderstandings reported by adults with TS and leads to a plethora of interpersonal, communicative challenges. Importantly, these misunderstandings are what ultimately contribute to much of the unwanted attention described by the participants in this study and documented in previous work, highlighting the value of a greater awareness of how misunderstandings take place with respect to TS.
Journal of developmental and physical disabilities, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s10578-011-0249-y