Melanie Sykes gives new health update two years after 'life-affirming' diagnosis
17.07.2023 - 16:51
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Melanie Sykes has said she "self-identifies" as having Tourette's syndrome. The TV presenter and former model, born in Ashton-under-Lyne, opened up about researching the condition after she was diagnosed with autism.
Sykes has just written a new book in which she details her experiences of being a woman in the media, as well as her journey to being told she had autism at the age of 51 two years ago. At the time she called the diagnosis "life-affirming", while Sykes’ youngest son, who is now a teenager, was also diagnosed with autism at age three.
On an episode of comedian Alan Carr's podcast Life's A Beach which came out on Monday, Carr confirmed she was allowed to swear, to which Sykes said: “Oh good, but I’ll try not to, because I’ve just discovered I have Tourette’s.”
Read more: Melanie Sykes praises Russell Brand for helping her through sobriety and depression
She explained: "I am wired a completely different way and I’m only just understanding it. Where I used to think ‘what’s wrong with me?’ now I know it’s everything that’s right with me because that’s what makes me me.”
Sykes later issued a clarification in a tweet after the podcast was released. "For the record I have NOT been ‘diagnosed’ with Tourettes," she tweeted.
“I self identify because of my studies and understanding of the pre existing ‘conditions’ that are hand in hand in some autistic people.”
In 2021 Sykes said she felt the education system needed to be overhauled to support those with autism. She said the system "crowbars" youngsters into a "certain way of thinking and feeling".
Tourette’s is a neurological condition. The NHS says it causes people to make involuntary movements and sounds called 'tics'.
Physical tics can range from blinking and eye