Backstage at Heathrow for the day!

Posted yesterday at 10:30
by Abbie Jones

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by Abbie Jones, age 16

Hello, my name is Abbie, I am 16 years old and I was recently provided the wonderful opportunity to visit Heathrow airport with Tourettes Action. This not only helped me to better understand how jobs in the aviation industry work, but also gave me a platform to help raise awareness of Tourette’s and give staff advice on how to best support people with our condition in airports.

Upon arrival at Heathrow, we were greeted by the lovely Andy, who gave us a safety briefing and provided us with the appropriate PPE (hardhats, hi-vis and boots) for the day. We then passed through security, and the staff here were really good at accommodating our tics and ignoring when we inevitably ticced about having prohibited items! After security we were able to see behind the scenes of the baggage area, and I was amazed at the rollercoaster-like sorting machines that separated the bags into different destinations. Following baggage, we were able to go airside and view all the planes up close, which I found very interesting.

Next we visited the control tower, which was one of my favourite parts, as we not only got a magnificent view of the airport, but the skyline of London too! The only downside here was that a staff member asked us to suppress our tics whilst in the control tower or we would have to leave, which whilst understandable as loud noises could distract the workers, was very difficult for us as tic suppression requires a lot of energy and discomfort, with the feeling (for me) being comparable to that of holding your breath or resisting the urge to sneeze.

After the control tower, we were given the opportunity to see the fire station, and even got to operate a fire engine and spray water from it with a member of staff, which was fantastic and so much fun! I felt really accepted here as the member of staff who was with our group repeatedly reminded us not to apologise for our tics which helped me feel at ease and less guilty about my coprolalia. However, a different member of staff here told us not to touch anything in the fire engine, even when the engine was turned off, which again triggered many tics in me and my peers to touch buttons and made it uncomfortable. Personally, I find that my tics respond better to less emphasised “try not to do this” statements than direct or overly emphasised “do not” statements, so perhaps that could be a recommendation for staff in the future when supporting people with tics.

Finally, we were given lunch and had a meeting with some of the airport inclusion team about improvements that could be made around assisting people in the Tourette’s community, and inclusion/reasonable adjustments in the workplace for people with TS. I found this opportunity really valuable, as I not only had the opportunity to voice my views on this subject, but also gained lots of confidence from discussing such an important matter in a conference-style setting, as this was something I had not previously experienced. When asked for my advice on assisting people with our condition in the airport, I mentioned about always ignoring the tics but never the person, only mentioning tics if the person seems in pain or has mentioned them first, and never treating the person differently because of their tics unless it is to benefit them and they are okay with it. I felt that my thoughts were well received, and am so grateful to have been given a platform to share my ideas.

Overall, I had a brilliant time at Heathrow and am truly honoured to have been chosen for this opportunity, I feel it will greatly benefit me in my journey to becoming an advocate for the Tourettes community. A massive thank you from myself and my family to Andy, Hunee, Pippa, Neesh and all the other wonderful staff members and Tourettes Action Team who made this possible.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!

~ Abbie

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