Wayne continues to look for work. He would like to be a security guard or hospital orderly. He sends his resume everywhere. But he hardly ever gets an interview.

Wayne also lives on social assistance. Recently, his only work has been short term projects at the Longside Club. "I'm going to keep on looking for a steady job," he says. "But there are lots of people without disabilities also looking for jobs. I still keep hoping, though, that something will turn up."

Rene Rubia

Rene Rubia was born in St. John's in 1969. At first, he appeared to be a normal little boy. But at the age of five he developed a strange habit. "I would take a deep breath," says Rene, "hold it in, and tense my body up. Several times I fainted." Rene did other odd things with his breathing. "I would take a real sharp intake of breath and make long breathy noises." Rene would do this over and over. He was showing the first signs of a condition called Tourette's Syndrome.

About one in every 2500 people develop this strange disease. Doctors think that Tourette's Syndrome is caused by too much of a brain chemical called dopamine. People with Tourette's have nervous "tics"—movements or sounds that the person cannot control. Some examples of tics are constant sniffling, jerking of different parts of the body, kicking or stamping. People with Tourette's may also make strange noises: hoots, barks and hisses. One of the strangest things about the condition is that many people with Tourette's will often shout out obscene words or phrases. Some people with Tourette's also have "obsessive compulsive" behaviour. They will repeat certain actions like polishing a ring, washing their hands or brushing their teeth. Sometimes they will repeat everything that is said to them. Rene's compulsive behaviour showed in his mood swings. "I had really fast mood swings," he says. "One minute I'd be crying because I had no friends. The next minute I'd be happy as a lark."

Childhood was difficult for Rene. "I had some friends," he says. "The ones that were a little more open minded. But I spent a lot of time alone." It really upset Rene when people told him that he could control his tics if he just tried harder. "It was like they were trying to reason my Tourette's out of me," he says. "But that's impossible. This is a medical condition." When Rene was about 14, he began to have swearing tics. "I would shout out swear words at the top of my lungs," he says. "Half the time I'd be tired out by the end of the day." For Rene, school became a real problem. "Teachers would threaten to send me to the principal," he says. "But I couldn't help it. The words would just come out." He also faced a lot of teasing. "I had a bad temper," says Rene. "I used to get into a lot of fights."