Tourette Syndrome

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What is Tourette’s syndrome?

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by tics. According to Bruun, Cohen, and Leckman (1984), “tics are involuntary, repetitive, and stereotyped movements of individual muscle groups”. Most disorders involving tics are divided into categories according to age of onset, duration of symptoms, and the presence of vocal or phonic tics in addition to motor tics. People with this disorder may have outbursts that are not intentional. Symptoms usually appear before the age of 18. Greene (2002), reported, “Tourette’s syndrome is named for Georges Gilles de la Tourette who first described the condition in 1885. Tics (involuntary, nonrhythmic movements) are the hallmark of the disease”. Symptoms can sometimes disappear for weeks or months and come back. Greene (2002), says, “Brain scans and EEG’s show differences in the brains of children with Tourette’s. These changes are influenced by genetics, by neurobiology, and by what is going on in the child’s life”. Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc. (2000-2002) says, “Most people with TS lead productive lives and participate in all professions. Increased public understanding and tolerance of TS symptoms are important to people with Tourette syndrome”. Increased awareness on Tourette’s syndrome can help people understand the disease.
What causes the disease?
According to Greene (2002), “Tourette’s syndrome affects about one out of every 2,000 people. It occurs worldwide, in all ethnic groups, though it is most common among whites”. This condition is an inherited disorder that usually runs in families. Greene (2002) says, “It is three to four times more common in boys than in girls, and usually begins before age of 7. The classic symptoms of this disease are tics. The most common first symptom is a facial tic. An example of a facial tic is mouth twitching or rapidly blinking eyes. Other initial sig...