Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month: Tics

You're at the grocery store and you notice a lady at the meat counter jerking her head to the side repeatedly.  You're out to eat and hear the child at the table next to you grunting throughout much of the meal.  While at the park, you hear someone yell 'fire' multiple times, despite the fact that there is no fire present. How do you respond?  Do you stop and stare?  Do you go to the people in question and ask if they are alright?  Do you walk away, assuming bad parenting, drug use, or even just the desire for attention are to blame?

Believe it or not, these are all situations that I have encountered in public places - situations that I am lucky enough to understand rather than to have a reaction like those I mentioned above.  For those of us blessed (yes, I did say blessed) enough to have experience with Tourette Syndrome, it's easy to understand that those situations are all examples of tics.  Rather than bring attention to the tics or assuming the worst, we're able to sympathize with the ticcers, understanding that they are struggling with the need to perform these actions, no matter how badly they want to control them.

Tics can come in many forms, motor and vocal, simple and complex.  The possibilities are endless.  Below are a few examples of each type of tic.  As you may notice, some tics can be unclear as to whether they are classified as simple or complex.  Please remember that these are just examples, and that for each example listed, there are many more that are not listed.  It is also important to remember that some children experience tics that show up for a short period of time and then disappear with no explanation, never to experience another tic again (in which case, wouldn't be indicative of a tic disorder such as Tourette Syndrome)

Simple Motor Tics - eye blinking, neck jerking, shoulder shrugging, facial grimaces

Complex Motor Tics - groaning behaviors, facial gestures, biting oneself, smelling things, stomping of feet, jumping

Simple Vocal Tics - throat clearing or coughing, grunting, sniffing, snorting, barking

Complex Vocal Tics - coprolalia (the use of inappropriate words, which is rather rare despite media portrayal of this being common with TS), palilalia (rapid repetition of a word or phrase), echolalia (repetition of words)

Let's Talk About Tics

Today is day 3 of Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to educate those who might be confused about what tics are, and about how they differ among those who have Tourette Syndrome.

Tics are repetitive, involuntary body movements, and they can be physical or audible.  Some tics can be quite simple, such as eye-blinking or sniffing.  Some are more complex, such as when Monster Man looks upward at the outer sides of his face (opposite directions and up at the same time) while making a really wide smile.  Blinking, snapping, chewing, etc are all examples of motor tics.  Verbal tics can include such things as throat clearing, barking, and shouting.

Some verbal tics can include coprolalia, echolalia, and palilalia.  Coprolalia refers to the desire to curse or say derogatory words or phrases.  Echolalia refers to repeating what others say (kind of similar to the copycat games that kids like to play, mimicking each other, but instead is involuntary).  Palilalia is the repetition of  one's own words or group of words.  This can be similar to a stutter.  In Monster Man's case, he occasionally will repeat a few words in his sentences ("I want to go to to go to the ball fields tonight").  It happens so quickly that he often doesn't even realize that he's repeated himself, and it can go unnoticed on occasion by those around him (thankfully, since a stutter is often made fun of by kids his age).

Tics have a tendency to wax and wan.  They can come on for a very short period of time, then disappear for a while before returning.  Sometimes they come, stay a while, and then disappear completely.  Very rarely do tics come on and never go away.

Tics differ greatly between those with Tourette Syndrome.  You might fill a room full of people with TS, only to find that no two are having the same tics.  While two people might have matches in their lists of tics, they may not exhibit the same tics at the same time.  And for every match that is on their lists, they have many more that do not match up.  The lists of tics can be just as different as the individuals who have the tics.