Last year, then sixteen-year-old Joshua Martineau who has Kabuki syndrome and Tourette syndrome, had a challenging experience at his local Cineplex.

According to ChCh, Joshua was excited to celebrate his birthday. He decided that he wanted to see the live action Beauty and the Beast movie. Everything was fine while he was watching the new movie. This was until classic Tourettes symptoms started to bother him. Sometimes Joshua has verbal tics that are uncontrollable. He began making raspberry noises, lip-smacking, and kissing sounds during the movie.

Others watching the movie complained about him making inappropriate sounds. Meanwhile, Joshua’s mother tried to explain to them that he has Tourettes. Unfortunately, they still yelled about his behavior. After the movie was over, his mother expressed how she felt about the whole ordeal on social media. She was upset at the fact that people judged him so quickly even though she tried to explain his unintentional outbursts. She believed that he was discriminated against.

Joshua enjoyed seeing the newest version of the fairy tale, but he was also upset by people’s reactions. He felt horrible. Joshua even told his mother that he hated himself because of the incident.

Thankfully, however, when the theater’s management saw their online grievance, they offered them a private screening of the movie. Joshua and his friends got to see the movie again without having to worry about controlling his tics.

There needs to be more awareness of Tourettes and in honor of the 2018 National Education & Advocacy Conference this week, we urge you to share your experiences to raise awareness.

How do YOU spread awareness about Tourette challenges? Share your suggestions in the comment section.