Mark Chartier

Mark developed symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome when he was seven years old and demonstrated significant behaviors throughout school. He persevered thanks to positive relationships with school staff. He earned a BA in English at Colorado State University-Pueblo, where he discovered his love for writing; and two master’s degrees at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs despite suffering from newly diagnosed disabilities including a brain injury and a significant stutter. He now teaches special education in southern Colorado and gives motivational speeches, sharing his triumphs as a student with disabilities and how they led him to become a teacher of students with disabilities. He is an author of two books of poems, “Fingerprints” and “Tell Me Something Good” (Turning Point Press, 2019 & 2024), which chronicle the shared successes of Mark and his students in overcoming disabilities, abuse, and mental illness. For more information, please visit: www.teacherwithtourettes.com