A MUM who developed Tourette’s when she was 40 has shared the most harrowing parts of the condition, from shouting racist slurs to calling her own daughter a ‘little s**t’.
Elizabeth Hall, 47, from Bedfordshire, has opened up about navigating family life in a new Channel 4 documentary, The Mum Who Got Tourette’s.
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Elizabeth, a mum-of-three, developed the condition a few years ago, and her son, Robert, 17, also suffers from it.
Despite dealing with the symptoms everyday as she struggled to get help for Robert, Elizabeth said it “didn’t occur” to her that she also had Tourette’s.
She thought she had a brain tumour or Parkinson’s, and sought the opinion of four doctors before accepting the diagnosis.
Elizabeth, who lives with her husband Simeon, 50, daughters Eloise, 20, and Flo, eight, as well as Robert, said sometimes she hates the condition.
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One experience in particular, in a Build-a-Bear shop, stuck with the mum, when she offended a child.
Elizabeth told the Mail: “One of the hardest things is offending parents. I’ve said ‘what an ugly baby’.”
And while she calls them a “bog standard normal family” with “a few more swear words”, sometimes her ticks affect her loved ones.
The documentary showed Elizabeth calling Flo – who wears earphones around the house – a ‘little sh*t’.
After watching it back, the mum said: “That segment where I say ‘you little s**t’ shocked me, but immediately I kiss her on the head and move on.”
The rest of the family seem to have adjusted well, with Robert managing to get his ticks under control over the last few years, from previously being “unable to walk and talk”.
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Robert now holds down a job at McDonald’s, and Elizabeth explains they’re conditions are “completely different”.
Meanwhile her husband of 20 years, Simeon, says there was “never a conversation” about the Tourette’s, and he finds life funnier now with “more humour”.
He said: “I think it’s hilarious for her to be shouting c**t in the middle of John Lewis.”
Their youngest daughter, Flo, has grown up with her mum having Tourette’s, but Simeon says he doesn’t think she’s been affected by it.
Although Elizabeth said: “The whole family have been amazing at cutting things short because of ticks, but I guess the person who comprises the most is Simeon.”
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While her family have taken the diagnosis in their stride, Elizabeth still offends people in daily life.
The documentary follows the family as they go out for dinner with Robert’s new girlfriend, Amelie, with Elizabeth shouting ‘Auschwitz’ and ‘Mussolini’ in the restaurant.
And while at a campsite in Cornwall, she also shouts n***** and p*** in public.
She recalls one occasion where she was giving a speech at an all-girls school, where she says 80 per cent of students were wearing a hijab.
Elizabeth said she “knew what was coming”, and ended up blurting out ticks which were “offensive and racist”.
The mum said: “I am always terrified by what comes out of my mouth or what physical gestures I might do.
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“I know there is a chance that would could come out could be received as deeply offensive.”
She added: “But the fact is, it isn’t normal for someone to shout out a racist slur in that situation.”
Elizabeth said she decided to do a documentary to try and show people the other sides of Tourette’s, which isn’t just swearing.
And she wants people, including parents and adults like her who develop it later in life, to know that life doesn’t have to be dictated by the condition.
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