Phoebe in Wonderland – Tourette Syndrome

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“Phoebe In Wonderland” is a movie, family drama that was released in the year 2008. It tells a story of a nine year old girl, Phoebe Lichten, wanting to play Alice in her school’s play “Alice in Wonderland”, directed by Miss Dodger. Phoebe does an excellent job on stage, relaxed and happy, feeling like she’s in a different world. But when she is offstage, she has an impulsive speech and an odd insecure behavior. Having worries, her parents take her to a therapist. But he is soon fired when he proposes that she should be put on medication. Her mom notices Phoebe’s self-destructive behavior at home, and her constantly getting into trouble at school, but she refuses to accept that there’s anything wrong with her daughter. Other than the trouble with Phoebe, her parents are also dealing with their own relationship problems. Her young sister feels jealous and left out when she watches Phoebe get all the attention from both parents. Phoebe is soon taken out of the play by the principal due to her behavior in class; that makes her even more depressed. But with the help of her mom and drama teacher, she is put back into the play. Her odd behavior still continues and she cannot understand why it happens. After she jumps off the catwalk and hurts herself, Miss Dodger is fired. Chaos erupts, but Phoebe brings everything back to order and makes sure that the play still goes on. Phoebe's fellow-actors descend into chaos, but Phoebe alone clings to a sense of purpose. Later, Phoebe is informed by her mom that she has Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Phoebe then explains it to her class so they can understand the reason to her behavior whenever it occurs. Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder that creates repeated, sudden, involuntary movements and sounds that some people make and cannot control. Those actions are called tics. This disorder is usually
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