Tourette Syndrome

History

Tourette Syndrome (TS) was first formally identified by a French Physician called Georges Albert Edouard Gilles de la Tourette (1857-1904) in 1884. It was also described as individuals who were wrongly believed to be possessed by the devil. He wrote an article describing nine individuals who displayed involuntary movements (tics), involuntary sounds, compulsive rituals, and compulsive behaviors, all with childhood onset. The condition was subsequently named Gilles de la Tourette syndrome or what is nowadays better known as just Tourette syndrome. For many years after this, TS was considered to be extremely rare. There is now growing evidence that it may be quite common and often goes un-diagnosed. These days TS is known amongst the medical professions as being a spectrum disorder of neurological origin with varying symptoms depending upon the person. Between 1 and 10 children per 1,000 have Tourette, and as many as 10 per 1,000 people may have tic disorders. The complications of having Tourette syndrome are ADHD ( Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), learning disabilities, sleep disorders, depression, and anxiety disorders (Gale, 2002).

Characterization

Tourette syndrome is characterized by several indicators. Some of them are muscular tics, vocal or phonic tics, and emotional differences. Some people have difficulty in emotional regulation, obsessive compulsions, and rituals. The characteristics and frequency of indicators can change throughout a "Touretter's" life time. The onset of Tourette syndrome is usually in childhood between the ages of 5 and 10 (average 7) years old (Packer, 1994). Tics can be divided into two types muscular tics and vocal tics.

Symptoms:

Simple motor tics are sudden, brief, repetitive movements that involve a limited number of muscle groups. Some of the more common simple tics include eye blinking, vision irregularities, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, and head or shoulder jerking. Simple vocalizations might include repetitive throat-clearing, sniffing, or grunting sounds. Complex tics are distinct, coordinated patterns of movements involving several muscle groups. Complex motor tics might include facial grimacing combined with a head twist, and a shoulder shrug. Other complex motor tics may actually appear purposeful, including sniffing, touching objects, hopping, jumping, bending, or twisting. Simple vocal tics may include throat-clearing, sniffing/snorting, grunting, or barking. More complex vocal tics include words or phrases. Perhaps the most dramatic and disabling tics include motor movements that result in self-harm such as punching oneself in the face, or vocal tics including coprolalia (uttering swear words) or echolalia (repeating the words or phrases of others).