Taken from “That Darn Tic,” a children’s newsletter.

Characteristics People with Tourette’s make involuntary movements

or noises. These are called tics.

Simple Tics: sudden, brief, repetitive movements that involve a limited number of muscle groups

Complex Tics: distinct, coordinated patterns of movements involving several muscle groups

Vocal Tics: noises that a person makes with their voice

Motor Tics: tics involving movement of the body

Simple Tics Complex Tics

Vocal Tics Throat-clearing,

Sniffing

Grunting

Snorting

Barking

Hiccupping

Yelling

Using different tones of

voice

Repeating one’s own words

Repeating others’ words

Using swear words

Motor Tics Blinking

Facial Movements

Shrugging the shoulders

Arm jerking

Head jerking

Shoulder jerking

Sticking the tongue out

Finger flexing

Touching objects

Hopping

Jumping

Bending

Twisting

Touching the nose

Touching other people

Obscene gesturing

Flapping the arms

Serious Tics: Coprolalia: uttering socially inappropriate words such

as swearing

Echolalia: repeating the words or phrases of others

Self-harming tics: scratching oneself, punching oneself, hitting one’s head on hard objects.

Things to keep in mind No case is typical.

Tics can change over time.

Tics can worsen and get better over time.

Often worst during adolescence.

Certain things can worsen tics.

Stress, anxiety, excitement, shirts with tight collars, hearing someone else cough or clear their throat.

Holding in Tics Tics are often preceded by a premonitory urge.

Trying not to tic:

Can feel like holding your breath

Trying not to hiccup

Trying not to blink

Behavioral Therapy It was a common opinion that any suppression of tics

would produce more in the future, so professors recommended not to ever encourage suppressing tics.

Now people have been working with cognitive behavior therapy and have seen some improvements.

Tic-detector experiment

Co-Occurring Conditions 79% diagnosed with at least one additional mental

health, behavioral, or developmental condition

64% ADHD

43% Behavioral or conduct problems (ODD or CD)

40% Anxiety problems

36% Depression

Over 1/3 also have OCD

Causes No one knows.

It is thought to be genetic.

Genes may just increase susceptibility for the disorder.

Monozygotic twins show a 50-70% concordance.

Dizygotic twins show a 9% concordance.

Some studied noted abnormal frontal lobe discharges.

Prevalence 3 of every 1,000 children 6 through 17 years of age and

living in the United States.

Other studies using different methods have estimated the rate of TS at 6 per 1,000 children.

27% are reported as having moderate or severe forms of the condition.

Tourette’s affects all racial and ethnic groups.

Males are affected 3 times more than females.

More common in children.

Tourette’s often decreases or goes away with age.

How is Tourette’s Diagnosed Diagnosis is fairly subjective.

Patients must have a case history of at least 1 year.

Facial tics are usually the first ones displayed.

Patients explain and show doctors their tics, and the doctor diagnoses them with Tourette’s.

Famous People With Tourette’s

1825 – First Recorded Case

Jean – Marc Gaspard Itard(1774 – 1838), perhaps most remembered for his work with the ‘Wild Child of

Aveyron’, noted the characteristics of Marquise

de Dampierre.

Marquise de Dampierre 26 years of age

Noble, intelligent young lady

“In the midst of a conversation that interests her extremely, all of a sudden, without being able to prevent it, she interrupts what she is saying or what she is listening to with bizarre shouts and with words that are even more extraordinary and which make a deplorable contrast with her intellect and distinguished manner.”

Georges Gilles de la Tourette

In 1885, Tourette published a detailed report of nine patients who exhibited a

condition with the characteristics of twitching, jerking

uncontrollably, crying out, grunting, or swearing

involuntarily.

Maladie des tics convulsifs avec coprolalie

Tourette argued in his report that it was distinct from other known diseases and disorders of the time.

Cited first example as Marquise de Dampierre.

Because a set of signs and symptoms, a course of illness, and a predisposing cause had been identified, Tourette argued that a disease had been described.

This was challenged by Parisian colleagues.

Early 20th Century The psychoanalytic influence on Tourette’s was that it

was a psychiatric problem.

Patients and families were often told that their own psychological maladjustments were to blame for their treatments.

Tics were attributed to sexual impulses and/or conflict between parent and child, resulting in deficits of will and character.

New ResearchIn 1968, Arthur K. Shapiro

and his wife, Elaine, treated a patient with

haloperidol. Seeing the effects the medication had

on the patient, the Shapiros argued that

Tourette’s was a neurological rather than a

psychological disorder.

Today Tic disorders are considered to be an inherited

neuropsychiatric disorder.

There are many places in which individuals with Tourette’s can receive treatment and support.

www.tsa-usa.org

Medical and scientific research

Newsletter for individuals of all ages

Educational strategies and advocacy

Many other features

I Have a Chicken in My Pants

“…Attitude and knowledge were

everything!! And the chicken lived happily

ever after.”

Ignorance Leads to Issues

Ignorance causes… Stress

Frustration

Task Avoidance

When the stress builds up within a student, the tics become much more prevalent and difficult to control.

Difficulties

Attention/Concentration

Impulsive behavior

General Fidgeting

Ritualistic Behavior

Accommodations & Adaptations Seat children with Tourette’s in the front of the

classroom to enhance attention.

Time-out passes can help to relieve tension and tics.

Eliminate unnecessary items from the student’s desk.

Designate a specific item or two for the student to be able to fidget with.

Have a private place that the student can go to calm down and release tics.

Accommodations & Adaptations A buddy system can help provide security and

educational support.

Distribute instructions rather than having the students write them down.

Reduce the length of homework assignments, remembering that quality is more important that quantity.

Allow the student to take tests in a private room and waive or give an extended time limit.

The Best Way to Help

1. As a teacher, be patient and persevering.

2. Provide the opportunity for the child to explain about Tourette’s to his classmates.

A Teacher Can Make the Difference

“I Have Tourette’s, but Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me”

Vimeo.com/58887624