A man who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 31 has revealed people - including nurses - often mistake his slurred speech for being drunk.
Ryan Cameron, 36, of Bedfordshire, was told he had Parkinson's after doctors ran tests to work out why his movements had become slower.
Mr Cameron spiralled into depression as he tried to come to terms with the shocking diagnosis, which also forced him to leave his job as a PE teacher.
Only a handful of patients develop Parkinson's, which causes symptoms including tremors and shakiness, before they turn 50.
Strangers have called him a 'grumpy git' - because he has less facial expressions - assumed he is old, or asked why he is using a disabled parking bay.
Mr Cameron told his story after a survey today revealed 87 per cent of people with Parkinson's disease have faced similar judgement or discrimination.
Ryan Cameron, 36, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's at the age of 31, has revealed he has wrongly been believed to be drunk - even by nurses. Pictured with his fiancée Kelly Lara, 28
The former PE teacher spiralled into depression as he tried to come to terms with the shocking diagnosis in October 2014. Pictured with Miss Lara
One in five people with Parkinson's has faced accusations of being drunk because of their symptoms, the survey by Parkinson's UK found.
Mr Cameron, who is engaged to Kelly Lara, 28, who he met in 2017, before he had to retire from teaching, said: 'There is so much misunderstanding.
'People just don’t realise how serious Parkinson’s is. I get told I’m "too young" and that "it’s an old person’s condition".
'I’ve had a nurse in hospital mistake my jerky movements for being drunk when I went to A&E with pain in my stomach, even after I told her I have Parkinson's.
'I have problems expressing my emotions through my facial expressions – a common symptom – and people just refer to me as a "grumpy git".
'On my good days when my symptoms are manageable, people often tell me I "don’t look ill", which can be frustrating.'
In September 2013, Mr Cameron, who was fit and healthy, had just started a new job as a PE teacher at a special needs school.
Young onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD) affects people under 50 years old.
In the US, around two to 10 per cent of sufferers are under 50, while just 1.2 per cent are in the UK. Parkinson's is usually diagnosed in those over 60.
Parkinson's in general affects one in 500 people, and around 127,000 people in the UK live with the condition.
It is a progressive neurological condition which destroys cells in the part of the brain that controls movement.
Sufferers are known to have diminished supplies of dopamine because nerve cells which make it die.
There is currently no cure and no way of stopping the progression of the disease, but hundreds of scientific trials are underway to try and change that.
Symptoms include:
Tremors of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face Rigidity of the limbs and torso Slowed movement Impaired balance and coordinationSufferers may also experience depression, insomnia and cognitive problems.
He was struggling with the increased typing needed for the job, finding that his right hand fingers would stay on certain letters on the keypad longer than he intended.
Mr Cameron had also been experiencing pain in his shoulder and his right arm and leg were moving slower than he expected.
'I was finding it hard to get going in the mornings and my movements
