Personal Stories

Dr. McKinlay's Story

"We were all victims of ignorance," says Dr. B. Duncan McKinlay. He's referring to a tortured childhood during which neither he nor his parents understood the strange movements, vocalizations and other 'habits' he exhibited from early on. These became his dark secret, and feeling utterly alone, he retreated inward. He grew angry at his own body and mind for turning against him. Convinced that even God was against him, he often contemplated suicide, and even made one attempt.

At 19 Duncan's life took a critical turn. He discovered Tourette Syndrome in a newspaper advice column. For the first time in his troubled life it all made sense. This burgeoning understanding set in motion a series of discoveries and courageous life decisions, culminating in a doctorate in Psychology and a meeting with fame. He appeared on major talk shows and his life was the subject of an award-winning documentary. When he created a website called Life's a Twitch, hundreds of thousands of inspired individuals flooded in.

Duncan's hope is that information like the TSFC provides be made available in a child's life as it wasn't for him. His hope is that there be support for them at every stage of their life, just like the TSFC was there for Duncan when he needed encouragement to pursue his dreams. His hope, and one of the chief reasons he became a dedicated psychologist, is for no child to have to go through what he did, alone.