Is Tourette Syndrome a disability? For people living with the condition, the answer is often more complicated than a simple yes or no.

In a new study published in Disability & Society, sociology professor Rena Zito examines how adults with Tourette Syndrome (TS) understand their condition in relation to disability. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 adults with TS, Zito found three broad perspectives. Some participants rejected the disability label, some embraced it and others occupied an uneasy middle ground.

Although participants commonly described pain, injury, disruption to everyday activities, stigma, and discrimination, these experiences did not necessarily determine whether they considered themselves disabled. In fact, tic severity did not neatly correspond with disability identity. Instead, participants’ views reflected broader cultural ideas about what a “real” disability is supposed to look like, including assumptions that disability must be visible, permanent, and severely limit independence.

For some, those assumptions made the disability label feel inappropriate. One participant explained, “I don’t need a ramp, I’m fine,” while another said Tourette Syndrome “can be disabling at times” but is not a “capital D disability.” Others embraced disability as an identity that recognizes both the physical effects of tics and the social barriers people with TS encounter.

Zito’s findings highlight disability identity as a social and interpretive process instead of as a straightforward consequence of diagnosis or impairment. They also suggest that clinical conversations and disability determinations should focus on how TS affects a person’s daily life rather than how visible or dramatic their tics appear to others.

This research was supported by an �鶹��Ƶ Summer Research Fellowship.

Citation:

Zito, R. (2026). ‘It can be disabling but it’s not a capital D disability’: Disability (dis)identification in Tourette Syndrome. Disability & Society, 1-24. 

, the annual conference, brings together researchers, healthcare professionals, educators, advocates, and individuals with Tourette syndrome and their families. This diverse and interdisciplinary audience provides a unique opportunity to share research directly with those most affected by it while also informing the work of clinicians, educators, and others who support people with Tourette syndrome.

The presentation, Beyond “Only 10%”: Coprolalia, Stigma, and (Not) Being the Stereotype, presented with psychologist Michael Himle (University of Utah), examined how stereotypes about coprolalia (the involuntary utterance of socially inappropriate words or phrases) shape the ways people with Tourette syndrome understand, discuss, and experience their condition. The session also invited attendees to reflect on how the language used by individuals, professionals and organizations can either reinforce or challenge stigma surrounding coprolalia and other highly stigmatized tics.

The presentation, Making Disclosure Work for You: Lessons from Social Science, presented with health communication specialist M.J. Dunne (Oregon Health & Science University), drew on Zito’s research alongside findings from across the social sciences to examine how people with both invisible and more readily apparent neurological conditions navigate decisions about disclosing their diagnoses. The session explored evidence-based strategies for informal disclosure in everyday interactions with strangers, coworkers, family members, friends, and others.

Sociology and anthropology students at �鶹��Ƶ develop research skills and gain hands-on experience conducting original studies with real-world impact. The products of their research were on display at �鶹��Ƶ’s Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) on April 28, 2026.

Examples of sociology and anthropology student research presented at SURF included:

• Lily Andresen-Simmons’s “College Student Narrations of Moral Formation” (mentored by Devin Proctor)
• Emma Hash’s “Parental Perspectives: A Sociological Analysis of Adoptive Parents During the One-Child Policy” (mentored by Tom Arcaro)
• Morgan Murphy’s “Constructing Serial Homicide: Media Framing of Serial Killers, their Victims, and their Crimes” (mentored by Rena Zito)
• Mallory Otten’s “Beauty and Blame: How Gender and Attractiveness Shape Perceptions of Heterosexual Intimate Partner Violence” (mentored by Rena Zito)
• Dani Rudd’s “Toward Values-Aligned AI Use: An Authenticity-Based Framework” (mentored by Alexis Franzese)
• Avery Shipp’s “Understanding the Everyday: Investigating Ancient Maya Society in the City of Dos Hombres Through Household Archaeology” (mentored by Rissa Trachman)
• Kate Burns’s “Ancient Maya Ceramics at Dos Hombres: Chronology, Use, and Meaning at the Courtyard A-4 Household” (mentored by Rissa Trachman)

  

Otten and Zito’s research examined how gender and sexual orientation shape public perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV). Using a nationally representative survey experiment with more than 1,600 U.S. adults, participants were shown the same IPV scenario, but with the perpetrator’s gender and sexual orientation changed across versions. They found that people judged heterosexual male perpetrators most harshly, while gay male perpetrators and heterosexual female perpetrators were seen as less culpable, less dangerous and less deserving of punishment. Lesbian perpetrators fell in between, suggesting that judgments about violence are shaped by assumptions about who is capable of causing harm and who is seen as a “real” victim.

The study draws attention to how stereotypes about masculinity, femininity and sexuality influence responses to abuse. Because intimate partner violence is often framed as a “women’s issue,” violence against men —  especially gay men — can be minimized or dismissed. In contrast, women perpetrators may be seen as less threatening. These perceptions matter because they affect whether victims seek help, how law enforcement and courts respond and whether survivors are believed in the first place.

Zito also presented a study titled “‘It’s Never Stopped Me Doing Anything I Wanted to Do’: Disability (Dis)Identification in Tourette Syndrome” as part of the Disability & Health session. The research explored how adults with Tourette Syndrome (TS) understand and articulate their condition in relation to disability, including how they position themselves as disabled, non-disabled or in-between. Based on 30 in-depth interviews, Zito found that disability identity is shaped less by how people interpret their experiences rather than simply by tic severity. Some rejected the disability label, equating disability with physical incapacitation and having a limited life, while others embraced it by pointing to chronic pain, workplace barriers, stigma and public scrutiny. Many fell somewhere in between, describing TS as disabling at times but hesitating to claim disability status. The research shows that TS exists in the “borderlands” of disability, where identity is influenced by cultural ideas about normality and what counts as a “real” disability.

The Lumen Prize supported Otten’s research. Zito’s research was supported by an �鶹��Ƶ Summer Research Fellowship.

The highlights of the event included the induction of sociology students into Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Honor Society of Sociology and of anthropology students into Lambda Alpha, the National Anthropology Honor Society.

The department also celebrated Avery Shipp, recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Sociology Senior Award, and Kate Burns, recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Anthropology Senior Award. These awards recognize distinguished scholarship and ethical research practices by senior majors.

Shipp was recognized for her mixed-methods research on the impact of the presentation of “bad behavior” in children’s literature on neurodivergent children from the 1980s until the present.

Kate Burns was recognized for her archaeological research and ceramic analysis at the Dos Hombres field site in Belize, research that she will continue to pursue in the Ph.D program in Anthropology at UT-Austin.

Otten and Zito’s project uses a survey-based experiment to explore how a perpetrator’s gender and physical appearance shape the way people interpret heterosexual intimate partner violence (IPV). Using original data from a nationally representative sample of 935 U.S. adults, they examined how respondents assessed culpability, the harm experienced by victims, deserved punishment, offense severity and the extent to which violent behavior was viewed as “normal” within relationships.

Their findings show that perpetrator gender influenced judgments across all of these areas. They also found evidence of an “attractiveness premium,” in which physically attractive perpetrators were viewed as more justified in their actions or as engaging in behavior that was less troubling, but only when female. Drawing on a feminist criminological perspective, Otten and Zito suggest that cultural norms surrounding gender and violence can lead observers to minimize violence committed by women who fit conventional standards of femininity.

These patterns help explain why some male victims of female-perpetrated IPV struggle to identify their experiences as abuse and often hesitate to seek support. This research is part of Otten’s larger, ongoing research program on perceptions of IPV, supported by the Lumen Prize.

A recent study led by Associate Professor of Sociology Rena Zito, along with Stacy De Coster from North Carolina State University and Eden Ralph ’23, sheds light on how college students feel about admitting applicants with felony records and histories of incarceration. The article, titled “,” was published in “Sociological Focus.”

Using a survey-based experiment, the study examines how factors like race and the type of offense affect college students’ willingness to accept or reject applicants with criminal backgrounds. The research involved students from two universities (one public and one private) who were asked to respond to a vignette about a fictional college applicant with a felony record.

The findings reveal some important patterns:

• Students are more likely to support restrictive admissions policies for applicants with violent criminal records than for those with drug-related offenses, regardless of the applicant’s race.
• Political views, concerns about campus safety, and general skepticism about the justice system played a major role in shaping students’ opinions.
• Qualitative responses (open-ended answers) showed that students often wrestle with a tension between supporting second chances and prioritizing safety and fairness in admissions.
• Race shapes deliberations of admissions for applicants with drug records but not for those with violent records.

Overall, student support for the restrictive inclusion of students with violent and drug felony records mirrors broader public opinion on criminal justice policy reform, potentially hindering the full restoration of rights and opportunities, particularly among those deemed unworthy.

Eden Ralph ’23, who contributed to the research, went on to earn an M.S. in Criminology in2024 and is now working toward a Ph.D in Criminology, both at the University of Pennsylvania.

The episode digs into the details of the study: Its goals, its most striking findings and how its results provide insight into how individuals with the condition, advocacy organizations, and health care professionals can educate about Tourette Syndrome without perpetuating the stigma of coprolalia (obscene language tics).

The full episode is available on , the , or the .

Zito’s , published in the journal “Deviant Behavior,” explores how this narrow stereotype circulates in media and everyday interactions, and how adults with Tourette Syndrom (TS) push back against it, sometimes with unintended consequences for those whose tics confirm the stereotype.

Drawing on interviews with 30 adults diagnosed with TS, Zito found that widespread misconceptions about TS fuel social stigma, delay diagnosis and push people without obscene-language tics to distance themselves from the condition’s more sensationalized image. Many do so by stressing that coprolalia is rare and presenting themselves as examples of “normal” TS. But this distancing perpetuates a tic hierarchy in which tics are stratified by how socially acceptable they are, both in the public eye and within the TS community itself. As a result, people with coprolalia often experience even well-intentioned stereotype-busting as marginalizing.

Zito concludes that correcting myths about TS is vital, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of people with coprolalia. Advocacy groups, individuals with TS, and medical professionals can foster inclusion by acknowledging the full range of TS experiences and framing coprolalia as one of many possible tic expressions rather than treating it as an unfortunate exception.

This research was supported by an �鶹��Ƶ Summer Research Fellowship.

Mason Carter ’25, a sociology major, presented “Racial Conceptualization and Classification: Understanding in Color” in a session on Racial Appraisals, Conceptualization, and Attitudes. The presentation drew on survey data in which respondents were asked their race in an open-ended question and then asked to explain their answer—that is, respondents shared the grounds for how they define their racial identity. The presentation examined variation by factors like education, race, and gender in how Americans think about the basis of race. Raj Ghoshal, associate professor of sociology, mentored Mason’s research.

Sol Addison ’25, a sociology and applied math double major, presented a cross-cultural study on how individuals use brands to express their authentic selves, comparing people in the U.S. and China. Using survey data from nationally representative samples, the research explored how cultural orientations—specifically individualism and collectivism—shape brand-related identity expression. Surprisingly, Chinese respondents reported higher levels of individualism than expected, and both orientations positively predicted brand authentication. Chinese participants were also more likely than Americans to use brands to reflect both personal and social identities. By introducing the concept of “brand authentication,” Sol’s work highlights how global brands can act as cultural connectors, shaping identity and community across borders. Alexis Franzese and Rena Zito, associate professors of sociology, mentored Sol’s research.

Trinity Barnett ’25, a psychology and media Analytics double major, gave a presentation that explored the intersection of gender, labor and leisure by examining who takes on the work of planning family vacations to Walt Disney World. Drawing on survey data from over 200 respondents recruited through Disney trip planning forums, the study found that women—who made up the vast majority of respondents—were significantly more likely than men to experience trip planning as laborious. The findings reveal that while trip planning can serve as both a source of stress and satisfaction, it also highlights the often invisible labor that women disproportionately shoulder, even in contexts meant for relaxation and enjoyment. Alexis Franzese, associate professor of sociology, co-authored and mentored Trinity’s research.