Twelve-year-old
Brad Cohen lives in
Missouri with his divorcée mother, Ellen, and younger brother, Jeff. He constantly gets into trouble with his father Norman and his teachers at school due to his
tics. In one class, his teacher calls him to the front to make him apologize to his class for disrupting the class and promise he won't do it again. Determined to find out what is wrong with her son, Ellen seeks medical help. A psychiatrist believes that Brad's tics are the result of his parents' divorce. Ellen takes her search to the library and comes across
Tourette syndrome in a medical book. She shows this to the psychiatrist, who agrees with the diagnosis, and says that there is no cure. Brad and his mother soon attended a support group. From then on, Brad aspires to never be like the other members of the support group and to become successful. At the beginning of middle school, Brad is sent to the principal's office for being disruptive. The principal invites him to the school concert later in the afternoon. At the end of the concert, which Brad's Tourette's tics had disturbed, he calls Brad up to the stage and asks Brad to talk about his condition. As Brad makes his way back to his seat, the school applauds him. From that moment on, Brad aspires to become a teacher, just like the principal. As an adult, Brad lives with his roommate Ron in
Georgia and his rabbit named "Waffle" and is looking for work as an elementary school teacher. He is turned down after 24 interviews because of his Tourette syndrome and finally gets an interview where the staff is accepting and they give him the job. On his first day, Brad explains the syndrome to his students. He helps a boy with
ADHD and
OCD, Thomas, with reading and makes an impression on Heather, a girl with terminal cancer. Another student's father pulls her out of Brad's class as he fears Brad will distract her. When the little girl tries to sneak into Brad's class again, he expresses his gratefulness but doesn't oppose the girl's father's wishes and reminds her that her father is doing what he thinks is best for her. Brad meets a woman named Nancy Keene on an online dating site. After dating her for some time, he invites her over for
Thanksgiving back at Ellen's house, where he tells Nancy he loves her, and the feeling is reciprocated. He confides in Ellen his concern that Nancy will get fed up with his tics, but she reassures him that he must not let his condition get in the way. An observer at the school assesses Brad's teaching, and the head teacher announces that Brad has been chosen to receive the Teacher of the Year award, which he accepts in front of his family, friends, and students. A textual epilogue reveals that Brad got his master's degree, dressed up as the Atlanta Braves' mascot, and married Nancy in 2006. ==Cast==