Rebel Girls Celebrate Neurodiversity: 25 Tales of Creative Thinkers

Rebel Girls Celebrate Neurodiversity: 25 Tales of Creative Thinkers — page 7
8 BILLIE EILISH SINGER-SONGWRITER When Billie was little she and her brother spent their free time writing songs together She loved finding the perfect words to match the melody and hearing the way her voice moved through them all from soft whispers to airy high notes She always knew she wanted to be a singer When she was 13 Billie uploaded her song Ocean Eyes on a streaming platform Listeners loved it and the world wanted to see what Billie would do next Out of the spotlight though Billie was dealing with a neurological condition When she was 11 years old Billie noticed her body moving on its own She would raise her eyebrows wiggle her ears back and forth click her jaw or flex her muscles all without being able to control it Billie did not know why this was happening to her With help from her family and doctors she found out that she had Tourette's syndrome a condition that affected the nerves in her body It caused her tics the sudden movements that kept happening throughout the day Billie was relieved to know what was going on but she still had a hard time with the tics like when people would laugh at her That made her upset Over time Billie embraced Tourette's syndrome It's not like I like it she says but I feel like it's part of me Some of her tics have gone away as she's gotten older She still experiences others Through it all she's focused on what really matters her music Billie uses lots of different sounds from electronic beats and catchy bass lines to soft guitar chords and plinking piano notes Above it all her gentle expressive voice intones heartfelt lyrics Billie keeps speaking out about her experience with Tourette's syndrome She wants everyone to feel comfortable sharing what they're going through BORN DECEMBER 18 2001 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA