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 JIM
EISENREICH,
professional baseball player
Eisenreich was not diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until
he was 23 years old. His baseball career was put in jeopardy
when his symptoms worsened. It took more than three years
to find the right combination and dosage of antidepressants
to control his symptoms, but he succeeded in doing so
and continued his baseball career. Eisenreich is a role
model to young people with TS; at baseball games, he visits
with children with TS, letting them see that he is leading
a full life. He gives talks about living with Tourette
syndrome and has appeared in a video for children called
"Handling
It Like a Winner."
 MAHMOUD
ABDUL-RAUF, professional basketball player
Abdul-Rauf
(formerly named Chris Jackson) was one of the leading
free-throw shooters in the NBA. He is featured in an independent
documentary called "Twitch
and Shout," which was produced by two people
with TS. It has been suggested the Abdul-Rauf's obsessive-compulsive
Tourette Syndrome traits underlie his amazing free throw
success.
 SAMUEL
JOHNSON (1709-1784)
Johnson
was a famous British writer who penned the Dictionary
of the English Language and the Lives of Poets. His friends
noted that he had almost constant tics and movements.
He often made repeated noises, and blew to make whistling
noises. He was also compulsive, engaging in complex rituals
before going through a doorway (such as making certain
gestures many times before leaving a room). Although this
is circumstantial evidence, it is probable that Dr. Johnson
had Tourette syndrome.
 WOLFGANG
AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
In
1992, an article was written in the British Medical Journal,
speculating that Mozart had Tourette Syndrome. The truth
is we will probably never know whether he had Tourette
Syndrome. What we do know is that he wrote letters to
his cousin Maria that contained many obscene words, especially
words having to do with bodily functions. It has also
been documented that he was hyperactive, suffered from
mood swings, had tics, and loved made-up words.
Other success stories include:
- Tim
Howard, Metrostars Soccer
- Michael
Wolfe, jazz pianist
- Tobias
Picker, composer
- Lowell
Handler, photo journalist
- Amy
Wilensky, playwright/author
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