Leeds schoolboy targeted by bullies speaks out about Tourette's
11-year-old Nicolae has been beaten up and received death threats because of his tics
An 11-year-old boy from Leeds who's been beaten up and received death threats is urging more people to understand Tourette's syndrome.
The condition causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics.
Nicolae Smith from Rodley started suffering with facial tics at the age of four and was diagnosed when he was nine.
He’s missed most of the last three years of school because of his tics and all the bullying he’s endured.
His family spoke to us as Lewis Capaldi is praised for helping to shine a spotlight on the condition. His Glastonbury set at the weekend saw the singer struggling to perform through his tics.
“It’s been heartbreaking,” says Nicolae’s mum Charlotte.
“Watching him come home covered in bruises, cuts, beaten up, being bullied. They say things like he shouldn’t be here on this earth.”
Nico’s family want to see better education about Tourette’s and for more people to understand it.
Many relate the condition to swearing, but this is only a factor for around one in 10 people with the condition.
“He’s sometimes had tics in his legs and he’s not been able to walk, he’s had to be carried up to bed sometimes” says Nico’s grandma, Linda.
“The eye ones are really awful. He was doing boxing and he couldn’t see what he was doing, so he was trying to box and it was just impossible.
“It’s been awful watching him.”
Linda says Nico has taken inspiration from people like Lewis Capaldi and Norwegian singer Tix who the family have previously travelled out to meet.
“He made these bracelets for Tourette’s that say ‘You are not alone’. He raised a lot of money for Tourette’s, over £1,000, by making and selling them.
“And by seeing Lewis on stage it’s like, you are not alone… because there’s other people who are suffering the same as him.”
The family also think there should be greater NHS provision for children with Tourette’s. Another of Linda’s grandchildren also suffers with it and she says he’s waited more than two years to get a diagnosis before he can start on any medication.
In a statement released yesterday, Lewis Capaldi said he’s taking a break from touring to focus on his mental and physical health.
He said he was "still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette's" and that the decision to call off the tour was "the most difficult decision of my life".
It included a set at Leeds Festival in August.