Beaverton boy with Tourette's is a national ambassador to help others understand the disorder | OregonLive.com

Beaverton boy with Tourette's is a national ambassador to help others understand the disorder | OregonLive.com

Beaverton boy with Tourette's is a national ambassador to help others understand the disorder

By Melissa Navas, The Oregonian

April 15, 2010, 5:00PM

View full sizeBenjamin Brink / The OregonianJordan Britton, 15, a freshman at Thomas Edison High School in Beaverton, started seeing symptoms of Tourette's syndrome when he was in fifth grade. He sits in a chair amidst his peers at school because it is a more relaxed position for him. Britton was selected as one of 36 national youth ambassadors for the Tourette Syndrome Association. He is in Washington, D.C. this week for training on how to advocate for himself and speak about his neurological disorder with others.BEAVERTON -- Jordan Britton noticed the man staring at him from across the aisle on the plane.

The 15-year-old knew it was because of his facial tics and uncontrollable body movements. He leaned over and began educating the man about Tourette's syndrome, the neurological disorder that has caused his body to jolt, shake and stumble since fifth grade.

"If you can, maybe just try to ignore it," Britton asked. After that, the