Tourette’s syndrome

AKA Tourette’s or TS

Who is most likely to get the disorder?

• Males are affected by Tourette’s Syndrome 3 to 4 times more often than females.

• At the present time there is no indication that Tourette’s syndrome is more or less common in any ethnicity.

Symptoms• Tourette’s syndrome only affects the brain.

• You can notice Tourette’s by looking at someone, but it depends on their actions and how bad they have TS.

• You can notice the symptom by how a person acts. Normally people with Tourette’s make sudden strange movements or yell random words or sounds.

How common is it?• Between 1 and 10 people per 1,000

have Tourette’s Syndrome.

• The disease isn’t very common and it typically is not very noticeable.

Is the disorder deadly?• The disease is not fatal and it doesn’t

shorten your lifespan. It affects your actions so it does not harm your body.

Can you be tested?• Yes you can be tested for the disorder.

Tourette’s can be diagnosed when a person exhibits multiple motor tics and one or more vocal tics, with no more than three consecutive tic-free months. The diagnosis can’t be made until the child is at least 2 because the child has to be able to talk and be monitored for a year. Monitoring them is basically the only “test” to diagnose it.

Is there treatment?• There is no actual treatment or cure for Tourette’s

Syndrome but the tics can be decreased. The symptoms are normally mild and won’t affect you that much but it can be very noticeable. Some people will suddenly make rapid or large movements and some will even scream words or sounds uncontrollably. Some individuals will scream cuss words and they can’t control it. The problems are dealt with by taking medicine for the tics or counseling.

Support groups• Yes, Tourette Syndrome Support Group

Interesting facts• There are two different types of tics. Motor

tics are movement based tics and phonic tics are involuntary sounds made by the mouth or nose.

• It is estimated that 100,000 Americans have full-blown TS, and that as many as 1 in 200 show a partial expression of the disorder.

• Tourette’s Syndrome does not affect a person‘s IQ.