Hello, I’m Wilamena and I’m a musician, cello player & percussionist. I am a 16 year old girl who attends school, surfs, blogs, bakes, and travels and I also have Tourette’s syndrome and OCD. I don’t let my neurological conditions hold me back.
I am writing this blog to bring some awareness and to help other people that also have these conditions. This blog is about my story, my daily life, my tics, my struggles and little tips on how to cope.
So, welcome to TicTastic! Xx
MY LATEST BLOGS
NJCTS Tim Howard Leadership Academy
In the summer of 2021 I was lucky enough to discover an online conference held by NJCTS – New Jersey Centre for Tourette’s Syndrome, aimed at building confidence in young people suffering with Tourettes syndrome and enabling them to advocate for themselves and others, out in the community. Because it was an online course, this […]
Channel 4 – ‘Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery…’
Hello everyone, I hope that everyone is ok and having a good summer. Sadly today I am going to address something that has caused a huge negative impact on the Tourette’s community recently. On July 19 2022 Channel 4 broadcasted a documentary called “Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery…” presented by Scarlett Moffatt that has caused outrage within […]
Tourette’s Awareness Month 2022
This month has been Tourette’s Syndrome awareness month and I worked hard to spread the word and educate as many people as I could, in as many ways as I could! What is Tourette’s Syndrome? Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition that causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics. It usually […]
I was LIVE on BBC Spotlight News!
Hello everyone, I am really excited to let you all know that I was interviewed live on BBC Spotlight News TV on 15th February 2022! I hope that you are all well and happy new year, as this is my first blog post of 2022 due to a few hectic weeks at school with my […]
TicFest 2021!
Hello everyone, I hope that you are all having a good summer so far and enjoying the sunny weather when you can. As some of you may already know, I have previously been to something called Ticfest which is run by the charity Tourette’s Action. It is where families that have children with Tourette’s Syndrome […]
Find out why Cornwall Mind needs your support and bid in their art auction this weekend
I am so lucky to have support from the NHS and school for my Tourette’s Syndrome, OCD and anxiety and it really helps me, but what happens as I get older? Students and adults can really struggle to access enough support. Typically a student in higher education might only be offered six sessions of support […]
The BBC have selected me, and the story I submitted for the BBC Young Reporter competition to be one of the winners!
The BBC have selected me, and the story I submitted for the BBC Young Reporter competition to be one of the winners! The BBC said “More than 2,500 young people aged 11-18 submitted original and interesting story ideas to the competition, which is in its third year. It gives young people the chance to make […]
Ticmas day 12 Who knows my Tourettes better?
Hello everyone, Today was the last day of Ticmas because it is Christmas Eve! I hope that you have enjoyed being able to watch a new video everyday. I am proud of myself for managing to do it! For the last Ticmas video my family and I sat down in front of the Christmas tree […]
Ticmas day 11: Music and Tourette’s Syndrome
Hello everyone, I can’t believe that Ticmas is almost over and that Christmas is literally just around the corner! For today’s video I talk about why I play music and I also talk about famous musicians who are also Tourette’s sufferers! If you haven’t seen yesterday’s video then check that out here. Merry Christmas and […]
Ticmas day 10: Taking Exams with Tourette’s Syndrome simulation
Hello everyone, I hope that you have had a good day full of fun festivities! Today was day 10 of Ticmas, so I decided to make a video all about why Tourette’s syndrome can make taking exams extremely difficult. There is currently a petition that Tourette’s action have been promoting that is arguing that people […]
Ticmas day 9: Making a gingerbread house with Tourette’s Syndrome
Hello everyone, Today was day 9 of Ticmas so my sister and I made a festive video where we made a Christmas gingerbread house. We managed to make it from scratch without it completely failing! If you haven’t seen yesterday’s video then check that out here https://youtu.be/qFDrVo8z23E Merry Christmas and Ticmas, Wilamena 🙂 Xx
Ticmas day 8: Sleeping with Tourette’s Syndrome
Hello everyone, For Ticmas day 8 I made a short video about why sleeping can be quite tricky if you have Tourette’s Syndrome. I talk about why it can be tricky and what I do to help make sleeping easier. I work through a download about sleep problems that is available at Tourettes Action for […]
Ticmas day 7: Doing art for a mental health break
Hello everyone, Today my sister and I had a bit of a bad day and I was really struggling to film one of my normal videos, so instead we made a video where we talked about mental health struggles by making a collaborative piece of random art that reflected how we had been feeling that […]
Ticmas day 6 Things that people with Tourette’s Syndrome can relate to
Hello everyone, I hope that you are all having a fabulous day filled with plenty of festivities! Today was Ticmas day 6, so my sister and I sat down and made a video where we talked about things that most people with Tourette’s Syndrome can relate to. We discussed things like the worst games to […]
Ticmas Day 5- Chat about therapies for Tourette’s Syndrome and OCD
Hello everyone, I hope that you are all having a good day full of festivities! For Ticmas day 5 I made a video where I chatted all about therapies for Tourette’s Syndrome (ERP and HRT) and therapies for OCD (CBT) and my experience with these. If you haven’t seen yesterday’s video yet then check that […]
Ticmas day 4, Making necklaces and chatting about Tourette’s cousins
Hello everyone, I hope that you have all had good day full of festivities! For Ticmas day 4 I filmed a video with my sister, Marley, where we made some necklaces for various Christmas presents and chatted all about the world of Tourette’s Syndrome cousins (conditions that are linked to Tourette’s Syndrome) and we specifically […]
Ticmas Day 3! Hospital appointment and medication for Tourette’s Syndrome
Hello everyone, I hope that you are all having a good day full of festivities. For Ticmas day 3 I take you with me to a hospital appointment and then I sit down and chat about medication for Tourette’s Syndrome. I talk about my experience of taking clonidine for Tourette’s Syndrome and all of the pros […]
Ticmas! Day 2 – Tic Attacks
Hello everyone, I hope that you are all having a good day! Welcome to day 2 of Ticmas! For today’s video I sat down and had a little chat all about tic attacks. I hope that you enjoy watching it and if you haven’t seen day 1 already then go check that out on my […]
Ticmas! Day 1
Hello everyone, I hope that you are all having a good day and are enjoying the lead up to Christmas! From yesterday until Christmas Eve I am going to be posting a video everyday, which I am calling 12 days of Ticmas! Yesterday’s video was me and my sister baking and chatting about how sometimes […]
