Airports can be stressful for almost anyone. Add Tourette Syndrome or a tic disorder into the mix, and there can be another layer of challenge:

What if my tics get worse? What if someone thinks I’m acting strangely? What if I say something inappropriate going through security? What if TSA doesn’t understand that I can’t just stop?

The good news is that there are several things you can do before you ever arrive at the airport to make traveling with tics easier.

Whether you’re an adult with tics or you’re preparing to fly with your child, here are some strategies and resources I recommend.

1. Carry a Tourette Syndrome ID Card

The Tourette Association of America offers an “I Have TS” identification card that can quickly explain that your movements or sounds are tics.

They also offer a “Why Do I Swear?” card, specifically for people who experience coprolalia—involuntary socially inappropriate words or phrases. This could be especially valuable in an airport, where certain vocal tics may be easily misunderstood.

Keep the card somewhere easy to access, and consider saving a digital copy to your phone as backup.

For someone with coprolalia, I’d actually recommend all three supports described in this blog. That gives them much stronger preparation than relying on any one strategy alone.

2. Consider Carrying a Letter From Your Provider

This is especially worth considering if you or your child has tics that could easily be misinterpreted in an airport.

For example, some people with Tourette Syndrome experience coprolalia or other complex vocal tics that can include socially inappropriate words or phrases. In an airport environment, certain vocalizations—such as profanity or words involving weapons, bombs, killing or threats—could understandably attract attention.

Other tics may involve unusual movements, touching, sudden gestures, slurred or altered speech, or difficulty remaining still.

A short letter from a physician or treating therapist explaining the diagnosis and describing relevant tics can provide additional context if a situation arises.

It doesn’t mean security personnel will ignore something that needs to be investigated, and it doesn’t exempt someone from normal security procedures. Think of it as another tool for communicating what is happening.

If I knew my child had a tic that could potentially be perceived as threatening or intentionally inappropriate, I would rather have documentation and never need it than desperately try to explain the situation once everyone is already stressed.

3. Contact TSA Cares Before You Fly

This is a resource many families don’t know exists.

TSA Cares provides additional assistance to travelers with disabilities, medical conditions and other circumstances that may affect the screening process.

TSA recommends contacting TSA Cares at least 72 hours before your trip when you’re requesting assistance at the checkpoint. Depending on the airport and available resources, support may include coordinating with a Passenger Support Specialist (PSS) who has additional training in assisting passengers with disabilities and medical conditions.

This can be especially helpful if security is the part of flying that creates the most anxiety.

And if you arrive at security and need help even though you didn’t arrange it ahead of time, ask to speak with a Passenger Support Specialist or Supervisory Transportation Security Officer.

Don’t be afraid to advocate for what you need.

4. Request Assistance From Your Airline

TSA assistance and airline assistance are two different things, and you can use both.

Under the Air Carrier Access Act, airlines are required to provide certain forms of assistance to passengers with disabilities. Depending on the passenger’s needs, this can include assistance navigating through the airport, getting to a gate, making a connection, boarding or deplaning.

If navigating a large, crowded airport significantly increases anxiety or makes managing your disability more difficult, contact your airline before traveling and explain the type of assistance you need.

You should also identify yourself to airline staff when you arrive at the airport, even if the request has already been added to your reservation.

You do not have to figure everything out alone.

5. Ask About Preboarding

This is another accommodation worth knowing about.

Passengers with disabilities who identify themselves at the gate as needing additional time or assistance to board must be given an opportunity to preboard.

For some people with tics, this may not be necessary at all.

For others, it can eliminate one major source of stress: standing in a crowded boarding line while trying to manage luggage, people brushing against you, noise, anticipation and increasing tics all at once.

Getting settled before the plane becomes crowded may make the transition significantly easier.

6. Consider the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower

You may have seen people traveling with a green lanyard covered in sunflowers.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a voluntary way to indicate that someone has a non-visible disability and may need additional patience, time or assistance.

A growing number of airports participate in the program, and some provide the lanyards free of charge. However, recognition varies between airports and individual employees. The lanyard also does not provide expedited TSA screening or allow you to bypass security procedures.

I like it as an additional tool.

I wouldn’t make it your only tool.

Pair it with your Tourette ID card, appropriate documentation and any assistance you’ve arranged through TSA or your airline.

7. Look for Sensory or Quiet Spaces

Here’s another resource worth checking before your trip: your airport’s accessibility page.

Some airports now offer sensory rooms or quieter spaces for travelers who become overwhelmed by noise, crowds or stimulation. For example, some major airports specifically advertise sensory spaces as part of their hidden-disability services.

Before traveling, search:

“[airport name] accessibility services”

or

“[airport name] sensory room.”

Even if there isn’t an official sensory room, knowing where you’ll eat, where your gate is and where you could find a quieter area can decrease uncertainty.

8. Remember: Anxiety Can Be Part of the Tic Equation

This is the part I don’t want families to overlook.

You can prepare all of the documentation in the world and still spend the entire airport experience thinking:

Don’t tic. Don’t tic. Don’t tic.

That’s probably not going to make the experience easier.

Tics naturally fluctuate, and emotional state, attention, environment and stress can all influence someone’s tic experience.

So instead of making the entire travel day about controlling the tics, intentionally manage the environment around them.

Stay engaged.

Have conversations.

Listen to music or a podcast.

Play a game.

Watch something funny.

Move your body before sitting for a long flight.

Bring sensory tools that you already know are helpful.

Eat and hydrate appropriately.

Give yourself plenty of time so you’re not sprinting through the terminal worried about missing your flight.

For children especially, I would avoid constantly asking:

“Are your tics okay?”

“Do you feel like you’re going to tic?”

“Remember, don’t say that when we get to security.”

That can inadvertently put even more attention on the tics.

Prepare ahead of time, make a plan, and then allow the child to experience the airport.

9. Have a Simple Advocacy Script Ready

You shouldn’t need to give someone a five-minute lesson on Tourette Syndrome while standing in the security line.

Prepare one sentence.

For example:

“He has Tourette Syndrome. The movements and sounds you’re seeing are involuntary tics. We have documentation if you need more information.”

For an older child or adult:

“I have Tourette Syndrome. What you’re hearing is a vocal tic and isn’t intentional.”

Simple. Calm. Clear.

Your ID card can provide additional information without requiring you to explain everything verbally.

10. Remember: Other People’s Reactions Are Not a Reflection of You

Unfortunately, tics can sometimes attract looks, whispers, comments or judgment—especially when someone doesn’t understand Tourette Syndrome.

Their reaction is not a reflection of you. It’s a reflection of what they understand—or don’t understand.

You are not responsible for a stranger’s assumptions about you or your child. They don’t know what you experience every day, just like we don’t know the full story of every person we pass in an airport.

You don’t have to explain yourself to everyone who looks your way.

Be gentle with yourself. Keep moving. Stay focused on the people you’re with and the experience you’re having rather than the reactions around you.

A stare doesn’t change who you are. A hurtful comment doesn’t define you. And someone else’s lack of understanding does not need to become your burden.

You are allowed to tic and still enjoy the moment you are in.

11. Know Who to Ask for if There’s a Problem

Finally, know your rights.

If you experience a disability-related problem with an airline and you’re unable to resolve it with the employee you’re speaking with, ask for the airline’s Complaint Resolution Official (CRO).

Airlines are required to have a CRO available, either at the airport or by phone, while the airline is operating. CROs are specifically trained to address disability-related issues and airline responsibilities under the Air Carrier Access Act.

Hopefully you’ll never need one.

But knowing who to ask for can make a stressful situation much easier to navigate.

You Don’t Have to Make the Tics Disappear to Travel Successfully

This may be the most important thing to remember.

The goal isn’t:

“How do I make sure I don’t tic at the airport?”

It’s:

“How do I prepare myself so that if I tic at the airport, I know what to do?”

Carry identification. Bring documentation when appropriate. Contact TSA Cares. Request airline assistance when you need it. Look into your airport’s accessibility resources. Have an advocacy script ready.

Then go enjoy your trip.

Tourette Syndrome may require a little additional preparation, but tics don’t have to prevent you or your child from seeing the world.

This information is intended for educational purposes and is based on U.S. air travel resources. Security procedures, airport services and international disability accommodations can vary by airport and country. Check with your airline, TSA and individual airports before traveling.