Brad Cohen (born December 18, 1973) is an American motivational speaker, teacher, school administrator, and author who has severe Tourette syndrome (TS).
[1][2] Cohen described his experiences growing up with the condition in his 2005 book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored with Lisa Wysocky.
The book has been made into a 2008 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie titled Front of the Class,[3][4] and adapted into a hit 2018 Bollywood film Hichki.
[7] His mother was compassionate, but his father did not understand why his son did the things he did, often getting frustrated and punishing him for making noises or other physical tics.
She took him to a Tourette syndrome support group meeting, where Cohen realized that other attendees "seemed resigned to a life of defeat" and was "inspired to triumph over the disorder".
[12][13][14] Cohen attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where he majored in elementary education and was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi.
[15] During his first week at school, he was kicked out of a local fast food restaurant when an employee thought he was drunk and threatened to call the police, even as Cohen and his friends were trying to explain about his vocal tics and TS.
[16] After graduating cum laude with many academic honors,[17] Cohen moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the 1990s to seek employment, applying to numerous elementary schools for a teaching position.
"[21] Cohen met Nancy Lazarus of Charleston, South Carolina, through an Internet dating service;[1] they married in June 2006[22] and have two children.
[23] Cohen's book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-written with Lisa Wysocky, was published in 2005.