I don’t know what the complete topic is but as a professional firefighter in Pgh. I drove 42 foot firetrucks for 30 years & the only accident I ever had was caused by a guy parked to far out in the street for me to get through a very narrow road

Hi Jay! Thanks for stopping by cawsnjaws.com!

I think everybody in the world ought to see your presentation. I’m going to work on that. ;)

I appreciate your efforts to raise the visiility of Tourettes. I once had a friend who suffered greatly from the disorder.

That being said, just because someone suffers from a disability does not mean they have a responsibility to anyone to make it public. Nor do they have any duty to be a spokesperson. It’s not like you choose to have it.

And even if any NASCAR drivers are afflicted (a big if), disclosure of a neurological ailment would effectively end their career. Given the dangers inherant in racing at 200 mph inches from another driver, no sponsor would want the liability.

Many nervous behaviors like those listed on your symptoms page are also evident in many people put in front of a TV camera, especially the facial tics. It’s called stage fright. Prednisone can also cause this, as can excessive caffeine. Sniffling, coughing or throat-clearing is also a symptom of smoking, a behavior often done in private by many drivers.

Please don’t take this the wrong way. I applaud your convictions, but urge you to use caution when making such a claim as you know there are drivers that have Tourettes. Unless you’re a doctor specializing in this disease, and have a chance to not only do a physical in person but run the appropriate tests, thats not fair. Now you could have fans disecting driver interviews to figure out “who it is”, or even have other drivers and owners doing the same. Since the symptoms can be attributed to other things, you could have a driver stand unfairly accused.

Best of luck to you and your son.
Kelly

Thanks for writing Kelly.

Please know that there are no physical tests that can be given to diagnose Tourette Syndrome. No tests whatsoever. The diagnosis is based solely upon patient’s history and symptoms.

If you lived with someone with other disorders, you would learn to recognize them from others. It is the education you get by living with someone with disabilities and disorders. My husband has it, as well as myself. You may be right in that I am not a doctor, but I would bet my bottom dollar I could diagnose the disorder with the accuracy of one. If you lived with someone with cerebral palsy or bipolar disorder, you could recognize it eons before other people could, because you live with it every day.

And also know that one of the drivers that I am sure of that has the disorder is so afflicted with it, that one of his fans wrote me to implore him to come forward so that the secret could finally be out. He is a veteran of all 3 series, and has been around many years. Are you implying that NASCAR would fire him based on his disability? Couldn’t happen. Based on the Disabilities Act, they couldn’t; just as they can’t throw my son out of public schools or anything he wants to do just because he has a disorder.

I understand why you think a person with a disability doesn’t HAVE to come forward, and I agree to a point. But until we bring Tourette out of the closet, just as we have done with alcoholism, depression, and many other disorders and diseases, the world will remain a lousy place to live for people like my son.

He has received so much cruelty and is completely shunned in his community, all because they experienced Joshua before we knew what he had and could offer an explanation. Unfortunately what they made up about him was scads worse than the truth of his diagnosis. He can’t live it down, besides being a great kid and making great strides in his life.

You’ll never convince me that keeping disorders in the closet is the best choice for our society.

I hope that you’ll reconsider your opinion; and that someday you get the opportunity to hear Jay Goodman discuss his life prior to his diagnosis, and his life today. And how important he thinks talking about this disorder is.

Hugs
Cheryl