Orland Park resident opens up about Tourette’s in new book

Originally published October 6, 2016

Tyler Oberheu is a 23-year-old Orland Park resident; attended Carl Sandburg High School, and has Tourette’s syndrome. He has not always felt like letting the world know about his Tourette’s. Until now.

Oberheu has written a book titled “Twist and Shout: An Awkward Life with Tourette’s.” The book vividly describes his experiences throughout his treatments, diagnoses (and misdiagnoses), medication —prescribed, holistic and more — and philosophy. It’s meant for a more mature audience as the topic is not an easy one. And living with the symptoms of Tourette’s is difficult, as well, he said.

It took him about three and a half months to write the book, and it reads more as a collection of assembled essays. It does use very colorful language, and is extremely candid. He has grown from writing the book, he said, and feels he has more respect for science and economics as he has been maturing.

His mom, Michelle, and dad, Larry, have three other children. Tyler’s three sisters are Danielle, who is 27, Olivia ,15, and Stephanie, 12. I asked him if he had thoughts on being a sibling with Tourette’s, and he said although his older sister didn’t always know what he was going through, she was interested in understanding what was happening. As far as the younger siblings, Tyler said that since he tried to hide his tics — involuntary movements — they never really treated him differently.

Younger sister Olivia was the one who introduced Tyler to a student at her school who also has Tourette’s. Tyler ended up interviewing him for the book. This young boy “Jeff’s” experience was different from Tyler’s in that Jeff opted to tell people about his Tourette’s, whereas Tyler hid his tics for a long time.

Tyler’s experience with the syndrome began around age 12, when he experienced symptoms including throat clearing, coughing, and excess phlegm, which doctors attributed to allergies or asthma. Without much relief, the symptoms continued, until, at age 17, Tyler had another symptom. Although he doesn’t remember the exact date, he remembers the exact moment. He was playing a video game when he felt a strange sensation in his left arm. He describes it as “I felt like I needed to move it — to twist and bend it — otherwise the feeling wouldn’t go away.”

This began his struggle to “fix” whatever was going on. He tells how his tics, symptoms, treatment, and relief have changed over time. He admits to being bullied and being a bully. He has interviewed peers with the same diagnosis in an effort to gain knowledge and also to educate people to the many variances there are with Tourette’s.

I asked Tyler why he wrote the book — what motivated him to help others? He responded, “I have this information and I want to promote awareness. I was bashful about my tics, but I’d like to create awareness, help out as many people as possible.

“I believe that if everyone can understand what a person’s individual experience is, we would all be in a better place. Everyone has a different experience and a different path in this weird, twisted reality that we live in.”

To do that, he feels that conversation — coffee, tea, sitting and having conversations about who you are, what is going on, learning about each other’s life paths is key to understanding. Besides, for him, meeting new people and having conversations is the best stress reliever ever.

That is an important feeling for someone with Tourette’s. As Tyler tells it, “At this point I’m happy with where I am right now. I am stress free.”

Tyler is currently holding down two jobs, being an adult, paying for a car, all that growing up, stuff. He is looking forward to going back to school. He recently auditioned for a movie role and also has an IMDB page.

His book, “Twist and Shout: An Awkward Life with Tourette’s,” is available in Kindle or paperback versions through Amazon.