'I am wired in a completely different way': Melanie Sykes says she has Tourette's Syndrome
18 July 2023, 08:18
Melanie Sykes has revealed she believes she has Tourette's syndrome.
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The TV presenter said she researched the condition after being diagnosed as autistic in 2021.
The 52-year-old told Alan Carr's podcast he was pleased she could swear if she wanted to because "I've just discovered I have Tourette's".
"I am wired a completely different way and I'm only just understanding it," she told Life's A Beach.
"Where I used to think 'what's wrong with me?' now I know it's everything that's right with me because that's what makes me me."
But she later clarified on Twitter: "Hello there. For the record I have NOT been 'diagnosed' with Tourettes.
"I self identify because of my studies and understanding of the pre existing 'conditions' that are hand in hand in some autistic people."
Sykes has spoken out about how the education system needs to accommodate people with autism.
Her youngest son, who is in his teenage years, was diagnosed aged three.
People with Tourette's make involuntary sounds and movements known as tics.
She is the latest celebrity to discuss the condition, with music sensations Lewis Capaldi and Billie Eilish both opening up about life with it.
Capaldi has taken time out after his diagnosis. He struggled during his Glastonbury set, leading to the audience helping him along.
