Tourette Canada

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Tourette Canada Tourette Canada is a registered (11926 7862 RR0001) charitable organization dedicated to improving the lives of Canadians affected by Tourette Syndrome

Calling All Calgary Trekkers! This year’s event will take place on Sunday, October 18, 2026. Traditionally, Trek for Tou...
10/14/2026

Calling All Calgary Trekkers! This year’s event will take place on Sunday, October 18, 2026. Traditionally, Trek for Tourette is a 5 km walk bringing communities together in support of those affected by Tourette Syndrome.

Funds raised through Trek for Tourette directly support Tourette Canada’s impactful programs, services, education, and resources for Canadians living with Tourette Syndrome and their families.

The Calgary Trek for Tourette is supported by the Tourette OCD Alberta Network who will provide refreshments.

Calgary Event Details:
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: North Glenmore Park, Kingfisher Picnic Site (opposite Parking Lot H)

In Ontario and looking for answers?The Tics and Tourette Clinic at SickKids is a provincial service for kids and teens a...
10/13/2026

In Ontario and looking for answers?

The Tics and Tourette Clinic at SickKids is a provincial service for kids and teens aged 4 to 17, available in person and virtually.

They offer diagnostic assessment, CBIT, therapy for co-occurring conditions like OCD and ADHD, caregiver support, and medication management. Ask your doctor about a referral to SickKids Psychiatry, Tics and Tourette Clinic.

And if you're not sure what to ask for yet, reach out to us. That's what we're here for.

By October, routines have set in, the work is harder, and the messages start: your child is disrupting class, won't star...
10/08/2026

By October, routines have set in, the work is harder, and the messages start: your child is disrupting class, won't start their work, keeps asking the same question.

Most teachers want to help. What they often lack is information about Tourette Syndrome and OCD, and without it, a tic can look like showing off and a compulsion can look like defiance.

Our latest blog walks through two tools that can change the year:

👉 An educational in-service, which helps the whole classroom understand what they're seeing
👉 An individual plan (IPP or IEP, depending on your province), which puts your child's supports in writing

It also includes a 35-minute webinar with Julian Fletcher of the Tourette OCD Alberta Network, covering what to ask for, in what order, and the accommodations that come up most often.

"We ignore the tics; we do not ignore the child."

Read it before your next school meeting: https://tourette.ca/2026/10/starting-the-school-year-well/

If an antecedent is what comes before a tic, a consequence is what comes after it.The word consequence can be confusing,...
10/06/2026

If an antecedent is what comes before a tic, a consequence is what comes after it.

The word consequence can be confusing, so let's clarify what it means in this context. It does NOT mean punishment. Tics are neurological and involuntary. In CBIT, a "consequence" is a technical term for what happens after a tic occurs.

What does happen next still matters, though. A tic might be followed by relief from an uncomfortable premonitory urge. Or a comment from across the room. Or getting to leave a situation that felt unbearable. Over time, some of those patterns can make a tic more likely to keep showing up.

That's the part CBIT works with. Not willpower but patterns.

Dr. Cheryl MacLeod walks through the consequences, antecedents, and the role of attention in tic behaviours. She's a psychologist with 20+ years working with children, teens and families at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax and the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, specializing in OCD, anxiety, repetitive behaviour disorders and tic disorders.

Understanding Tics: How Antecedents, Consequences and Attention Shape Tic Behaviours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAG4HUYd3j8

With thanks to Tourette OCD Alberta Network

Scott Reid came through a genuinely hard stretch a couple of years ago. He talks about it openly now because he remember...
10/02/2026

Scott Reid came through a genuinely hard stretch a couple of years ago. He talks about it openly now because he remembers being a kid, carrying more than any kid should have to carry alone.

"For me, what I've been through… I'm trying to just own it. And be like, hey, there's a good ending here, no matter where you are right now."

His advice to anyone young and newly diagnosed: there is a way to build supports around yourself and thrive. And the hardest part usually isn't the condition.

"It's a much harder path to try and just do it yourself."

You don't have to. If you or someone you love is navigating Tourette Syndrome, reach out. That's what we're here for.

Scott's Full Story: https://tourette.ca/2026/08/the-ferrari-with-bicycle-brakes/

Coming up this week: Julian Fletcher, Program Coordinator for the Tourette OCD Alberta Network, discusses the difference...
09/28/2026

Coming up this week: Julian Fletcher, Program Coordinator for the Tourette OCD Alberta Network, discusses the difference between student educational in-services and IPPs. What each is for, and when one or both may help support a student with Tourette syndrome and/or OCD.

Wednesday, September 30 · 6:30–7:30 pm MDT (8:30 pm EDT / 7:30 pm CDT / 5:30 pm PDT)
Free to attend, hosted by the Tourette OCD Alberta Network.

Register here: https://events.ucalgary.ca/cumming/tourette-ocd-alberta-network/event/521091-educational-in-service-and-ipps-what-to-do-when

What happens after childhood? It's one of the most common questions we hear from parents and one that adults with TS oft...
09/23/2026

What happens after childhood? It's one of the most common questions we hear from parents and one that adults with TS often have about their own next decade.

Dr. Tamara Pringsheim, Deputy Director Clinical Research at the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, looks at how Tourette syndrome changes through adolescence and adulthood: what shifts, what may continue, and what the evidence says about supporting health and quality of life along the way.

Useful whether you're a parent looking ahead, an adult with TS, or a clinician supporting either.

🗓 Wednesday, October 14
🕡 6:30–7:30 pm MDT (8:30 pm EDT / 7:30 pm CDT / 5:30 pm PDT)
🔗 Register: https://events.ucalgary.ca/cumming/tourette-ocd-alberta-network/event/521108-tourette-syndrome-in-adolescence-and-adulthood-

Hosted by the Tourette OCD Alberta Network.

Last spring, Scott Reid launched Calgary's first-ever Trek for Tourette. We was joined by individuals living with Touret...
09/21/2026

Last spring, Scott Reid launched Calgary's first-ever Trek for Tourette. We was joined by individuals living with Tourette's, plus the families and friends who walk beside them.

"It's amazing how much acceptance there is when you become more open," he says. "It's socially not as limiting a factor as I grew up thinking it was."

That's what a Trek is really for. Not just the funds, but the path full of people who get it.

Read Scott's story: https://tourette.ca/2026/08/the-ferrari-with-bicycle-brakes/

If your child's tics seem worse in some situations than others, you're not imagining it.In CBIT (Comprehensive Behaviour...
09/18/2026

If your child's tics seem worse in some situations than others, you're not imagining it.

In CBIT (Comprehensive Behavioural Intervention for Tics), an antecedent is anything that reliably comes before a tic and makes it more likely or more intense. It might be internal: anxiety, excitement, fatigue, boredom. It might be external: a specific class, a crowded room, a long car ride, or being told to stop ticcing.

Antecedents don't cause tics. Tourette Syndrome is neurological. But mapping the patterns around a tic gives families and clinicians something concrete to work with, instead of trying to fight the tic head-on.

In our linked video, Dr. Cheryl MacLeod breaks down antecedents, reinforcing consequences, and the role attention plays in this excellent presentation from the Tourette OCD Alberta Network. She's a psychologist with 20+ years working with children, teens, and families at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax and the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, specializing in OCD, anxiety, repetitive behaviour disorders, and tic disorders.

Understanding Tics: How Antecedents, Consequences and Attention Shape Tic Behaviours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAG4HUYd3j8&t

With thanks to Tourette OCD Alberta Network for making this available.

When I was younger, it was a focus of, will the Tourette's ever go away?" says Scott Reid. "Now it's more about living a...
09/15/2026

When I was younger, it was a focus of, will the Tourette's ever go away?" says Scott Reid. "Now it's more about living a life of abundance."

His most severe tics eased with age. What really changed, though, was his relationship to all of it. Therapy, boundaries, exercise, rest, and a word he keeps coming back to: contentment.

"You have to treat it like a marathon, not a sprint."

He's still ambitious. The drive hasn't gone anywhere. But he's found that being present beats clinging to outcomes.

Read his story: https://tourette.ca/2026/08/the-ferrari-with-bicycle-brakes/

Address

5 Nevets Road
Brampton, ON
L6T5T2

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+18003613120

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