Himself
Twelve-year-old Rory Brown has Tourette Syndrome. After recently moving to secondary school his physical and verbal outbursts have exploded. In 1988 John Davidson featured in the BBC documentary ‘John’s Not Mad’. Determined that no other child should go through the horrific experience he had as a child, he’s taken Rory under his wing. Rory also has help from Greg Storey. In 2002, aged eight, Greg took part in the ‘The Boy Can’t Help It’ - a follow up film to ‘John’s Not Mad’. As a boy Greg invented a complex language as a way of communicating with his Tourettes. Now aged 23, he believes it can be adapted to help speed up computers. Tourettes: Teenage Tics is an intimate and revealing documentary that over time captures the challenges and triumphs in John and Greg’s lives and introduces the audience to Rory, a boy at the very beginning of his journey with Tourette Syndrome.
2009 - In 1988, teenager John Davidson featured in a BBC documentary about Tourettes. At that time, few people had even heard of Tourettes Syndrome, let alone knew anything about the neurological condition which, at its worst, causes violent body movements and outbursts of swearing. John was 16, and trying to come to terms with a frightening world where his language and behaviour was a constant form of offence to everyone around him. In 2002, he took part in a follow-up film alongside 8-year-old Greg Storey, who had recently been diagnosed with Tourettes. Now, seven years on, this film revisits both John (aged 37) and Greg (aged 15), and sees how their worlds have changed. Greg is now the same age as John was when he first took part in a documentary. How does Greg's experience of being a teenager with Tourettes compare to John's, and how does John's life continue to change?
