Tourette syndrome

What is Tourette’s Syndrome?

Many children suffer from tics in different severities. However, Tourette’s Syndrome is one of the rarest disorders in these disorders group. Despite it’s rarity, it has received a lot of cultural exposure in recent years. Even so, people who suffer from Tourette’s have a difficult time managing their life’s with the symptoms. 

What are the characteristics of Tic disorder?

Tic disorder presents with randomly making sharp and fragmented voices, and with jumpy motions. The source of these voices and movements is neurological and is referred to as ‘Tics’. We can divide the Tics into several main groups. Motoric movement tics may appear as jumpy motions in the neck or shoulder area, blinking, face spasms, eyebrow’s tics and more. Another group is the vocal tics, that includes an involuntary and sudden voices such as: growls, coughing, throat clearing and more. 

What are the difficulties that come with Tic disorder? 

The tics can hurt the day-to-day functioning of the children, despite being inherently short. A child suffering from the disorder, who is facing hard circumstances during those years anyway, may experience decline in self-esteem, social difficulties or even bullying. The tics can hurt the person’s work life or studies at a later stage of life.

Is it common?

It is! According to assessments, tics appear in some shape or form in about 1 in every 4 children. For most of them it would be pretty simple tics, and not in a very high frequency, which will not necessarily hurt their functioning.

What are the reasons for the tics? And is Tic Disorder and Tourette’s hereditary?

Tics often appear naturally at an early age. However, if there are a lot of tics, they can interrupt the subject’s routine life, or can not pass over time – this can very well be a Tic disorder or Tourette’s Syndrome.  

It should be noted that the specific factors for the appearance of tics are not fully known. The popular assumption is that it is a combination of environmental causes, genetics [people who have a family history of the disorders are at a higher risk to suffer from them as well], and an imbalance in the dopamine levels of the brain.

Is there a difference between boys and girls?

According to assessments and existing data, the incidence of Tics and Tourette’s Syndrome are significantly higher with boys than with girls. The estimated ratio is 1:4, meaning that for every 4 boys that experience a tic disorder, there is one girl with the same diagnosis. 

Does the child have a sensation before a tic is coming?

Tics, by their nature, tend to be sudden and unexpected. Having said that, a child who experiences tics can feel a sudden and momentary urge to do the act [the tic], and afterwards he will feel a sense of relief. 

Can a specific mental state worsen or ease the situation?

There most definitely is a connection between the state of the individual, mentally or emotionally, and between the tic symptoms he presents. There are factors who can worsen a tic disorder, or increase it’s frequency, whether it being mental stress, anxiety, angers, tiredness, ETC. Maintaining a calm, balances and peaceful lifestyle as must as possible, can significantly improve the situation.  

When will a Tic disorder be considered Tourette’s Syndrome?

–  The tics must appear for at least a year, and include both movements and sounds, even if not at the same time.

– The tics must appear before the subject turns 18.

– The tics must appear consistently, a few times a day and almost every day. A tic disorder which will experience a pause of tics for over 3 months, cannot be considered Tourette’s.

– There is not additional illness which may cause the tics, such as medicinal treatment or other neurological disorders. 

The tics often increase as a result of mental stress such as fatigue, anxiety or excitement. Having said that, surprisingly, activities which require a high amount of concentration or ability can “silence” the tics. Many children exhibit a reduced amount of tics while studying, for example. 

Is there a test to diagnose Tourette’s Syndrome?

Despite having recently being expanded and the medical world begin highly advanced, there is no test these days which can provide a conclusive answer if the subject has Tourette’s Syndrome. A main part of the diagnosis is interviewing the subject and his family, to see the tic’s patterns, kind, frequency, circumstances, and so on. In addition, it is common to examine the subject’s family medical history, especially the parents and grandparents. 

Using the QEEG test, we can locate the irregular activity in the brain that suggests tics. When we treat tics with the Neurofeedback technology, we train the brain to alter it’s activity in the area and frequency that produces tics, and gradually stop the tics being produces until there are no more. 

If a general test occurs, such as a blood test, the aim would usually be to examine is it possible that other factors can explain the symptoms, and not necessarily Tics disorder to Tourette’s. 

Tics in kids

With kids, the tics usually start at around the ages of 5-10. They can often start with a tic in the head of neck area, though other tics may appear. The sounds and movements may alter over time, some tics pass after a few months.