SINGER Lewis Capaldi has been highly commended in the country’s top Neurodiversity Awards for his bravery in raising awareness of Tourette Syndrome.
A fan nominated the Scot for Achiever of the Year at the Celebrating Neurodiversity Awards saying: “As someone living with Tourette’s syndrome, you can relate to the difficulties Lewis experiences.
GettySinger Lewis Capaldi, on stage at Glastonbury on June 27[/caption]
“He has show immense endurance and constantly battles to continue being a performer and keep his fans happy.”
They added: “Lewis is a fantastic role model, inspiring others with Tourette’s syndrome to pursue their dreams and showing that strength can prevail.”
Nicky Campbell and his daughter Kirsty handed out Celebrating Neurodiversity Awards at the Institute of Physics in London to worthy winners – after being inspired by their own ADHD diagnosis.
The BBC broadcaster discovered his own traits aged 60 after Kirsty was diagnosed at 15. Nicky said: “My ADHD traits have benefited me and my career in many ways and I am more interested in the things that make us different than ever before.
“We loved hearing the stories that came out of the awards and met some of the incredible award winners.”
The Sun’s parent company News UK is sponsoring this year’s awards at London’s Institute of Physics. Let’s take a look at the winners.
Tourette’s syndrome is a condition that causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics.
It usually starts during childhood, but the tics and other symptoms usually improve after several years and sometimes go away completely.
According to the ADHD Foundation, around one out of 100 school aged children have diagnosable Tourette’s .
And over 300,000 children and adults are living with the condition in the UK.
There’s no cure for Tourette’s syndrome, but treatment can help manage symptoms.
People with the condition may also have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or learning difficulties.
What are the symptoms?
According to the NHS, there are two main types of tics:
Vocal: Grunting, coughing or shouting out words
Physical: Jerking the head, or jumping up and down
Tics can also be either simple (small movements or uttering a single sound) or complex (a series of movements/phrases).
Most people who have been diagnosed with Tourette’s have a combination of physical and vocal tics.
They don’t pose a serious treat to the person’s overall health, although head jerking can be painful.
While people with Tourette’s often experience problems such as social isolation, embarrassment and low self-esteem.