How to Recognize Tourette's Syndrome

Tourette’s syndrome, named for Georges Gilles de la Tourette, is a disorder characterized by vocal and motor tics or involuntary movements that can be chronic or short term. Although most people associate Tourette’s with stereotypical examples of people with uncontrollable swearing and inappropriate talk, the disorder seldom looks like that. Tourette’s has a broad range of symptoms and severity and the following steps will help you recognize these tics in people.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Know that tics are involuntary movements that may include blinking, coughing, clearing one’s throat or sniffling. Motor tics involve movement while vocal tics involve sound from the mouth, nose or throat. These may include echolalia (echoing the words of others), coprolalia (swearing or using socially unacceptable words or phrases) or palolalia (the repetition of one’s own words). Tics can usually be controlled but there is a strong urge to perform them and they reduce tension when performed.
2. Understand that most people can suppress their tics for a while, as in school or at a dentist’s office. Usually, tics get worse after they’re suppressed, as many people feel a need to release their symptoms. Most tics appear in children 5 to 7 years old but they can start in persons as old as 18. Tics are at their worst from ages 8 to 12 and then there is usually an improvement.
3. Know the conditions associated with Tourette’s syndrome. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities and sleep disorders are often present with Tourette’s. It’s estimated that only about 40 percent of patients have Tourette’s alone.
4. Understand that most cases of Tourette’s run in families, with a parent having a 50 percent chance of having a child with the syndrome but not every child who inherits the genetic predisposition will have symptoms. Males are much more likely to have Tourette’s. It is believed that some types of OCD are related and ADHD may also be.
5. Realize that most people with Tourette’s live normal lives and have normal intelligence. Although there is no cure, most or all symptoms can be controlled with treatment. Education of the patient and their family has proven to go a long way toward relieving symptoms. Therapeutic treatments include behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy and other psychological therapies, including drug therapy. Try natural therapies such as yoga, relaxation techniques, biofeedback or exercise which have proved very helpful to some people.
6. If you suspect you or a family member has Tourette’s syndrome, write down all of your symptoms and behavioral problems as well as what's going on with you at the times these appear. Keep a list of these and note how often they occur.

Tips & Warnings

• Make an appointment with a physician first and have a complete physical as many other conditions share these symptoms. A treatment plan must be individualized but, with time, those with Tourette’s can live trouble free lives.