How Her Parents Helped This Grammy Nominee Deal With Life-Altering Diagnosis

Published: July 14, 2025

By Michaela Gordoni

Jamie Grace opened up about how she received the best support from her parents as someone with Tourette’s Syndrome and autism.

“For me, one of the main, you know, symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome…it’s a neural neurobiological condition. It causes movements and sounds called tics,” she told Movieguide®. “And, you know…I’m in my thirties now, and there’s a lot that I do to kind of manage it on a day-to-day basis.”

She initially received her Tourette’s diagnosis when she was 11.

“After I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome when I was 11, things got difficult,” she previously told CBN. “I never turned my back on God, but I rekindled the flame when I was 13.”

She’s grateful to have had supportive parents while she adjusted to her difficult diagnosis.

“When I think about my mom and dad and I think about some of the greatest ways that they supported me and comforted me and walked with me through it all, I remember hearing my mom like cry on the phone, advocating for me with a doctor,” Grace told Movieguide®. “And even though that was difficult to hear for me, that let me know, wow, she’s really fighting for me. She’s really on my side.”

“I remember my dad telling me like, ‘Hey, it’s okay to be kind of confused about why you’re having pain'” she continued. “‘Like, and we serve this really big powerful God. Like, it’s okay to be sad’ and like, so just, you know, not shielding your kid from the fact that this actually is a difficult thing to deal with, right?”

She also said it’s important that parents never blame their kids or make them feel bad about their differences.

“Just the transparency of like, hey, we’re in this together,” Grace emphasized. “You know, you’re not alone and very much leaning into the empathy of it, because when your kid is sick, they don’t need to know that. Like, you know exactly how it feels ’cause they are aware that no one really gets it.”

When Grace sings and performs, she becomes fully absorbed in what she’s doing and doesn’t experience tics.

“Music gave me a sense of purpose,” she said.

The artist also said it is helpful to have a good support group of people that know you well.

Grace is about to go on tour again for the first time in eight years. Starting Aug. 7, she will be in Minneapolis, St. Louis, Boston, and several other cities, ending on Sept. 7.

“I’m just so grateful to just still be walking out what He’s called me to do,” Grace said.

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