She even kept herself awake making the noises, so that sometimes her mother would spend hours each night, gently stroking her to help her fall asleep. Eventually she found the answer. A brain specialist diagnosed Fiona as having Tourette Syndrome, a movement disorder caused by a problem with the brain. This problem, which affects thousands of people in Australia of all ethnic backgrounds, causes people to make repetitive movements and sounds which they can't control. Sometimes people with TS imitate other people's movements repeatedly.
Sounds can include sniffing, throat clearing, coughing, grunting, barking or shrieking.
Some people with TS repeat their own or other people's words, or even use obscene language or insulting words without meaning them. This is a very distressing condition for people who have the disorder and for their families. What makes it worse is that there is little public awareness of the problem and people with TS are often assumed to be mentally ill or badly behaved. Neither of these things is true. Yet for most people with TS, seeing a film is out of the question, says Sue Cameron, who is president of the Tourette Syndrome Association of' Australia.