Tourette's does not have to limit a person's social participation, when people become accepting of the tics and become comfortable with them, they can become a source of amusement and enjoyment. If people can accept the tics without looking at those with the condition as outcasts for their seemingly odd head movements or other tendencies, it makes it easier for those with the condition to no longer view view their syndrome as a disease and see it more as a part of who they are, a unique quality that does not have to limit them from going out and living as a social being as those without the disease do. In an article on the quality of life of youth with Tourettes syndrome, it is suggested that the only reason youth suffering from Tourette's are at risk for a poorer quality of life is because they are at risk for being picked on and ostracized by other children who are not understanding about their condition during a time when peers opinions of self have a strong influence on self-esteem (Topolski). However, should you take away the social stigma that is still present around the disease, Tourette's doesn't limit one's participation in a meaningful life, and contrary to what most believe it does not limit one's career and hobby options. It seems strange to think that someone with uncontrollable urges could be a surgeon, capable of performing a two and a half hour complex surgery without complications from his condition, but Dr. Bennett, a man who has dealt with Tourette's for most of his life has done just that. How this is possible lies in the the fact that while Tourette's causes the mind to obsessively perform certain tasks, it also allows for a hyper focus, as described by Dr Oliver Sacks in his study of Dr. Bennett. In describing the increased focus Dr. Sacks writes "Such keen, fierce attention to every detail such constant looking below the surface, such examination and analysis, is characteristic of the restless, questioning Tourettic mind. It is, so to speak, the other side of its obsessive and perseverative tendencies, its disposition to reiterate, to touch again and again." While the tics can have their downsides as aforementioned, especially in making the person suffering from Tourette's feel outcast, the mind of a person with the condition also has an increased ability for close attention and focus on detail. This in turn makes it possible for them to be extremely successful at the things one might think to be impossible for a person with such a condition. Dr. Bennett for example, suffers extremely

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