When the Justice System Doesn't Understand Your Brain: Tourette Syndrome in the Courts

Coprolalia — the vocal tics that cause some people to utter forbidden words — affects only about 10% of people living with the syndrome. For the remaining 90%, tics take the form of facial movements, shoulder shrugs, throat clearing or sniffling. Dr. Baudouin Forgeot d'Arc, child psychiatrist and associate professor at the Université de Montréal, compared the premonitory sensation in the same article to a sneeze that cannot be held back.

But what the La Presse article doesn't address is what happens when these same tics are observed not in a concert hall, but in a courthouse. Or at a police station. Or before a judge who must decide whether a father can see his children.

What the System Sees — and What It Doesn't Understand

Tourette syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It reflects neither a person's intelligence, nor their values, nor their dangerousness. The AQST states in its official communications that approximately 90% of those affected also present associated conditions — ADHD, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, difficulties related to impulsivity, executive function and emotional regulation. These manifestations can affect every aspect of daily life.

But in a judicial context, these symptoms become something else. They become red flags. A father with facial tics in a courtroom may be perceived as nervous, unstable or under the influence of substances. A litigant who speaks with intensity — a common characteristic among autistic individuals or those with ADHD — may be interpreted as aggressive or out of control.

The problem is not the individual. The problem is that the justice system was not designed to recognize neurodivergence.

Nathalie Pételle: A Voice for Those the System Forgets

Nathalie Pételle has led the AQST for over 30 years. The organization is the only one in Québec dedicated to supporting people living with Tourette syndrome, their families and the professionals who work with them. The AQST works in collaboration with the Tourette Clinic at CHU Sainte-Justine, Dr. Simon Morand-Beaulieu and the Director of Mental Health Research at CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Julie Leclerc.

What the general public doesn't know is that Ms. Pételle does not limit herself to media interviews. She also accompanies, directly and personally, people living with Tourette syndrome who find themselves caught in the justice system — people whose tics and comorbidities are misunderstood, misinterpreted and sometimes used against them.

Julien is one of them.

Julien: When Tics Become Evidence

Julien (name changed to protect his children's identity) is an autistic father with Tourette syndrome who has been receiving individual support from the AQST and Nathalie Pételle since November 2025. His story has been documented in detail by Justice-Quebec.ca in two separate articles. The statements reported below come from recordings and accounts documented by Justice-Quebec.ca; they are presented as alleged and have not all been the subject of final judicial conclusions.

What sets his case apart is not just what happened to him — it is the way his neurological symptoms were systematically misinterpreted by every actor in the system he encountered.

When he went to the Repentigny police station to file a complaint, officers refused to register it. On audio recordings available on Justice-Quebec.ca, a police officer can be heard telling him: "You're just here to bother us," followed by: "You have facial tics, you seem nervous, you look like a drug addict" — even as he was explaining that he has Tourette syndrome.

In court, a judge allegedly told him that "someone like him" did not deserve to have a lawyer. Another judge denied him his reasonable accommodations and his support person during hearings. His legal aid lawyer allegedly told him: "Someone like you doesn't deserve to have children."

In every instance, the pattern is the same: Julien's symptoms — the tics, the intensity, the communication style characteristic of an autistic person — were read as signs of danger rather than as manifestations of a documented neurological condition.

Julien says that without the support of Nathalie Pételle and the AQST during his most difficult moments, he would have had a very hard time getting through these ordeals. For him, that support made the difference between total isolation and the ability to keep fighting.

A Problem Bigger Than Julien

The AQST states in its communications that people living with Tourette syndrome "require adapted support, moments of cognitive relief and an environment that responds to their neurological needs." In the face of misunderstanding and stigma, "it is unfortunately not uncommon for depression and isolation to occur in response to this suffering."

The justice system is the exact opposite of an adapted environment. Québec does have a Criminal Justice and Mental Health Accompaniment Program (PAJ-SM+) — but in civil law, family law or basic interactions with police, neurodivergent citizens are left on their own in a system that is not trained to receive them. Courtrooms are stressful. Procedures are rigid. Some mental health training exists for certain actors, but it does not necessarily cover the specific recognition of tics and neurodivergent profiles in a judicial context. And when a litigant presents with tics, visible anxiety and atypical communication, the institutional reflex is too often to interpret it as a risk rather than as a need for accommodation.

Dr. Forgeot d'Arc noted in La Presse that factors such as stress and fatigue can worsen tics. In the context of a custody hearing, a court appearance or a police interrogation, imagine the effect on a person living with Tourette syndrome. The more stressful the situation, the more tics intensify. The more tics intensify, the more the system perceives instability. It is a vicious cycle that can only be broken through understanding — and that understanding is sorely lacking today.

The P-38: The Ultimate Weapon Against Neurodivergent Individuals?

Justice-Quebec.ca recently published a detailed investigation into the weaponization of the P-38, based on a 53-page judgment by Justice Daniel Urbas (2026 QCCS 365). But this judgment raises a question that goes beyond this single case: what happens when the person targeted by a P-38 application already has a neurological diagnosis?

What Needs to Change

The BAFTA incident sparked a wave of global awareness. But that awareness stops at the courthouse door.

To our knowledge, there is no mandatory, standardized training on neurodevelopmental disorders for all actors in Québec's judicial and police systems, nor any widely adopted protocol for receiving neurodivergent individuals in the courtroom. Yet Tourette syndrome and autism may fall under the concept of "disability" within the meaning of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which prohibits disability-based discrimination. The denial of a reasonable accommodation may constitute discrimination under section 10 and, depending on the context, may also engage section 15 when access to a public place or services is compromised.

Concrete solutions exist: specialized training on neurodevelopmental disorders; a police protocol to distinguish neurological manifestations from signs of substance use; the possibility of accompaniment by a recognized support person in the courtroom; and an independent expert assessment before any P-38 application when a neurological diagnosis is already documented.

The AQST supports these individuals. Nathalie Pételle follows them one by one. But as long as the justice system continues to confuse neurological symptoms with danger signals, the Juliens of this world will remain the most vulnerable among the vulnerable.

Learn More About Julien's Case

• "Someone Like You Doesn't Deserve to Have Children" — An Autistic Father Separated from His Children
• The Spunt & Carin Case: An Autistic Father Separated from His Twins, a Ghost Lawyer, and Silent Institutions

Sources: La Presse article, February 27, 2026 — Association québécoise du syndrome de la Tourette (AQST) — Official AQST correspondence, November 5, 2025 — Judgment 2026 QCCS 365, Superior Court of Québec — Audio recordings published on Justice-Quebec.ca — Articles and testimonies published on Justice-Quebec.ca.

This site does not provide legal advice. The information published is based on public documents, cited journalistic sources and official communications from recognized organizations. The name "Julien" is used to protect the children's identity. Statements reported as alleged have not been the subject of final judicial conclusions. All persons mentioned benefit from the presumption of innocence.