A new college grad writes about her Tourette's and the accomplishments she made when people believed in her

By Julie Bishop, Lee College, class of 2009, who majored in computer-aided drafting/design major, writing in the Education Life section of The New York Times:

She is onstage belting out karaoke and actually sounding good. She walks in a relay to raise money for cancer research and hands water to Special Olympics students. She organizes and participates in a fund-raiser to help the underprivileged continue their educations, and assists with the cleanup after Hurricane Ike. She is an honors student, an officer in four campus organizations and a member of others.

Who is she? It’s just me. I guess I’m not a “retard” after all. Let me explain.

As a child, I had a then-undiagnosed neurological condition now called Tourette’s syndrome. Mostly I grimaced, gestured weirdly and made the occasional distracting sound. I also had a visual impairment. People at school considered me strange. I would hear, “She’s retarded, she’s not going to achieve anything.”

I believed it and really didn’t try.

I graduated from high school without being able to read entire paragraphs. I decided I didn’t want my children ever to find out, so I learned to de-scramble by reading children’s books — one sentence a page — to my twins while they were still in my womb.To complicate matters more, I sustained a head injury in a car accident that made my condition worse. The children’s father had to take custody.It wasn’t until several years later, at 36, that I was finally diagnosed with severe Tourette’s syndrome, and dyslexia.

By this time, the disorder had progressed to severe tics and uncontrollable muscle spasms, which resulted in my limbs’ flailing out of control and frequent vocal outbursts. It was not unusual to give myself bruises and broken bones. However, I was sure I was not stupid.

My turning point began in 2007. I had just been abandoned by my second husband and left penniless and living in a small camper infested by mice and bugs, in the middle of winter, without heat or hot water. I lost insurance to cover medications that could help tame symptoms. I was scared to death, and I knew I needed to get an education to be able to support myself. I enrolled at Lee College, the local community college, in Baytown, Tex.

Three people affected me so deeply with their compassion and willingness to help me succeed that I vowed to pay forward the same kindness to others.

Susan Precht, the lead education instructor, gave me a work-study job as a clerical assistant. She saw that my visual disabilities were standing in my way. She was certified to screen for Irlen syndrome, which affects perception of written materials. She determined I also have that disorder. This information enabled me to get educational support specific to my needs. I was given extra time to finish my projects, and private testing accommodation so I would not interrupt other students. It was not unusual for Tourette’s to affect me severely when I had to take a test. I had to be taken off campus in an ambulance two to three times a semester because of violent episodes. The whole campus could usually tell when it was a test day for me. Thank goodness the staff and others on campus had taken the time to get to know how to help me get through those times.

Clare Fleming, the special population director, assists low-income students, especially single parents and displaced homemakers. She was the first person I met at Lee College. She gave me information about organizations that helped me get a safe roof over my head and food in my stomach my first semester, and a lawyer to successfully plead my case for Social Security disability and Medicare (though no doctor will see me without secondary insurance, which I can’t afford).

And John Britt, the honors program coordinator, advised me to enter his program and discussed my dreams and goals. I was terrified, but I took the chance to move forward solely based on the confidence he seemed to have in me.

Since those first days on campus, I am proud to say, I have completed the program. The honors program afforded me the opportunity to have an essay appear in an academic journal published by the Texas State Historical Association, on an organization of women who keep literacy alive in Liberty, Tex. This spring I was one of four students inducted into the Lee College Hall of Fame, the highest honor the college bestows.

But the highlight of my educational journey was the commencement ceremony in May. I was a keynote speaker. I was very nervous, and my Tourette’s showed itself as usual. I twitched, stuttered and jerked all the way through my speech. I dislocated my shoulder, but I just kept going. When I finished, I was shocked when the entire room erupted in a standing ovation. It was a wonderful night I will always remember. I will receive my associate’s degree in August, at which point I have hopes of becoming a drafting instructor.

I have accomplished so much more than I ever dreamed possible. I almost allowed my disabilities to limit me, but with the good people who saw potential in me, I now believe in myself.