Jake Duraski talks about life with Tourettes on Baylen Out Loud
Published 9:45 am Wednesday, February 5, 2025
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A familiar face was recently seen on The Learning Channel (TLC). Jake Duraski, a LaGrange resident, was recently featured on an episode of the show, Baylen Out Loud. The series follows Baylen Dupree, a young woman who lives with an extreme case of Tourette’s Syndrome.
Duraski, who also has Tourettes, has been a fixture for the TS community in West Georgia. In May, he worked with the Troup County Board of Commissioners to do a proclamation creating Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month in the area. Duraski accepted the proclamation in front of a crowd of other people with Tic Disorders.
Duraski’s episode, titled “Have Tourette’s,” aired Jan. 28 on TLC. The national television appearance was unexpected for Duraski.
“You know how there’s ComicCon and DragonCon…Well there is a convention for people with Tourettes, TicCon,” Duraski laughed.
He had gone to the national convention and heard Dupree discussing her new show. At the meet and greet later, the two hit it off.
“I guess I made a good impression, because her manager asked if I wanted to be on the show,” he said.
The episode documented the convention and the Tic Disorder community. Duraski joined Dupree for a virtual golfing activity and the two shared their experiences living with tics.
Duraski was happy, even excited to answer questions about the syndrome.
“There are vocal tics and motor tics,” Duraski explained.
Tourettes Syndrome is often used as a catch-all term for Tic Disorders. In actuality, TS is just one type of Tic Disorder. Currently, Duraski has a vocal tic, which sounds like a small cough. Tics can, and for Duraski has, evolved over time. Vocal (or Phonic) tics can be sounds, phrases and even curse words. Motor tics are physical movements like twitching, throwing your head back and more.
“For a lot of people it’s not just the tics,” Duraski said. According to the Tourettes Association of America an estimated 83 percent of those with TS have a “co-occurring condition.” The most common of these conditions are ADHD, anxiety, OCD, issues with social functioning and sleep disorders.
The TAA says that 72 percent of children and 87 percent of adults with TS or another Tic Disorder experience physical pain because of tics. Duraski has seen the effects TS or Tic Disorders can have on someone’s health first hand. He was a counselor at a camp focused on kids with Tic Disorders. The most extreme case he saw was a teenage boy whose tic would be beating his chest. It caused cardiac arrest multiple times throughout his childhood.
Duraski said there is no cure for TS, “and probably won’t be in my lifetime.” He said making Tic Disorders more understood is his mission.
On why he decided to go on the program, Duraski said, “I want people to think before they speak…Not assume things.”
He explained that because of his tic, coughing, he has had instances where people think he is sick and get mad at him for being out in public. He said it is particularly hard for kids, as poking fun at tics is common due to a lack of understanding.
TAA says that 80 percent of children with TS or another Tic Disorder felt that tics negatively impacted their school experience.
“Find your people,” he advised those just learning of their TS diagnosis. TS is highly genetic and Duraski’s father shares the diagnosis. He says it helps to have someone understand. For those who may not have an immediate family member, he encourages vulnerability with friends and family in order to foster that understanding. There are also support groups in the area, he encourages people to look into.