"Light Your Town Teal" campaign hopes to shine light on Tourette syndrome in Philadelphia
It's a movement disorder that can look strange to people who don't know what it is. People with Tourette syndrome are often bullied and face discrimination
The teal lights and advocates are aiming to change that.
Tara Lerman and Derick Valencik have Tourette syndrome, a tic disorder that causes involuntary movements or sounds.
Lerman twitches her mouth and jaw, and Valenncik blinks a lot. When he was younger, Valencik said his brain told his body that he would move his shoulder four or five times repetitively.
Lerman and Valencik were both diagnosed as children. They say they've endured a lifetime of bullying and people not understanding the disorder that can range from slight to severe.
"I often get stares or people looking at me," Lerman said. "I'll get some laughs sometimes."
The Tourette Association of America released a video showing different kinds of tics, saying that the neurodevelopmental disorder is usually diagnosed in children and affects about 1% of the population.
"I can't control it, I can't help it. And just like any other kind of challenge or disability that someone has," Lerman said.
"There's no cognitive disability that ties into it," Valencik said. "It's just like a motor and vocal thing that happens."
To help raise awareness about Tourette syndrome, buildings are joining the "Light Your Town Teal" campaign.
"I was almost crying to see the recognition," Valencik said.
As the two look over the skyline that's lighting up for them, they're hoping for change.
"To reframe how we're thinking about Tourette's and how we're defining it," Lerman said. "And knowing that it looks different for everyone who has it."
Doctors say there are some drugs and interventions that can help, but not for everyone.
"I think it's very important for people to understand we're just people, right? Like everyone else, and we just have these weird things that happen," Valencik said.
In addition to raising awareness, advocates hope research can find better treatments, and maybe someday even a cure.
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