Tics & Tourette Syndrome
Tics & Tourette Syndrome
Tics
- Tics are brief, involuntary actions.
- They can be simplex or complex, motor movements or vocal sounds.
- They are suppressible, meaning the individual can stem the compulsion to generate the tic but, unfortunately, there is a rebound flurry of tics that follows the period of suppression.
- They are suggestible, just asking the individual about their tics tends to provoke them.
Tic Subtypes
- Simple motor tics are abrupt, isolated movements: blinking, wrinkling the nose, shoulder shrugging, facial grimace, or head jerking.
- Simple vocal tics are simple sounds: coughing or throat clearing.
- Complex motor tics are sequential, patterned movements that can appear purposeful: skipping or jumping or smelling objects or body parts.
- Complex vocal tics involve words or phrases, sometimes obscenities.
Tourette Syndrome
- Tourette syndrome involves a childhood onset of motor and vocal tics that persist into adulthood but do fluctuate in severity (and often lessen in intensity and frequency).