Camp to help Kiwis with Tourette's

Analise Twemlow and her pet rabbit Ralph

A camp will be held this year for Kiwis with Tourette's to give support to those who feel they're on their own.

It is a first in New Zealand and it is all thanks to a Christchurch mother who found there was no support when her daughter was diagnosed with the condition.

Analise Twemlow loves drawing, music and her pet rabbit Ralph, but the 10-year-old also has to contend with tics and yelling she cannot control.

Last year she was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome.

"That was a bit of a fright, so I did my research on it because like most people I just thought it was adults swearing," says her mother Robyn.

Analise's mum needed help, but was shocked to find there wasn't any.

"I was blown away by it quite literally and I thought this is just not good enough. There are hundreds of people throughout this country who have been struggling on their own, we need to get all these people together, we need to do something to be a community," Robyn says.

So she began a Tourette's support group, and in October they will hold their first camp for Tourette's sufferers in Hanmer Springs.

"It's going to be good to go there with people who understand and don't bully me all the time," says Analise.

Similar camps have been held in Australia, and there will be adults there who have never met anyone else like themselves.

Tania Humphries was not diagnosed with Tourette's until she was 28 and has never met another adult with the syndrome.

She understands the importance of knowing others who share a common experience.

"We get to meet everybody, people get to build relationships and see that they're not the only person out there that's got this condition and how normal we actually are," she says.

Ms Humphries says there's more to the syndrome than yelling and swearing.

At its worst, Tourette's can be very dangerous. But she and the Twemlows agree that the stigma around the syndrome can be changed and they hope building a Kiwi community will create the support they need to do that.

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