Differentiating Tic Disorders
Is it possible to differentiate Tourette tics from non-Tourette tics? Are all tics the same? What is a tic? What does a tic feel like? How does "ticcing" affect a person's sense of self or "I-Function"? Are Tic Disorders Inherited?
A tic is a repetitive, uncontrollable, purposeless contraction of an individual muscle or group of muscles, usually in the face, arms, or shoulders. These movements may be signs of a minor psychological disturbance. Such tics often occur in childhood and will probably be outgrown. There are also tics that are caused by neurological disorders that could have resulted from brain damage at birth, head trauma, or use of some specific medication (1). Tic disorders may be
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These tics are more noticeable during stressful, fatiguing or emotional times (2). Boys are three to four times more likely to be affected than girls. Transient tics usually do not last for more than one year, although it is not uncommon to have these episodes over the course of several years. For many children, the symptoms never go beyond blinking and sniffing (or similar choices) and are often described as "nervous habits" or allergy symptoms.
Chronic tic disorders are differentiated from transient tic disorders in that their duration is over many years and the behavior is unchanging. With transient tic disorder, the tic may change from one type to another, (sniffing may be replaced by forehead furrowing and then the furrowing is replaced by finger snapping), while in chronic tic disorder the tic remains the same for a very long time.
Chronic multiple tics present often, and in series. Sometimes it is difficult to draw distinctions between transient, chronic and chronic multiple tics (2).
Tourette Syndrome (TS), first described by Gilles de la Tourette, can be the most debilitating of the tic disorders and is characterized by multiform, frequently changing motor and vocal or phonic tics. There are multiple diagnostic criteria, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV.
A. In Tourette Syndrome, both multiple motor and vocal tics have been present at some time
In "A Plague of Tics," David Sedaris's describes his life from childhood to adulthood. He suffers from OCD (Obsessive-compulsive disorder). Sedaris writes, "If I were to lose count of my steps, I'd have to return to school and begin again" (360). This showcases the extreme case of Sedaris's OCD; that if he does not make his route absolutely perfect, he won't be able to find peace. His compulsive routine as a young child included his unsettling "tics", which he had little to no control over. "It never fails to amaze me that people might notice these things. Because my actions were so intensely private, I had always assumed they were somewhat invisible" (Sedaris 362). Ironically, Sedaris refers to his "tics" as actions that were private
David Sedaris has an excerpt called The Plague of Tics from his book Naked detailing the obsessive compulsive behaviors that riddled his childhood & remained consistent into adulthood. Sedaris actively uses satire & humor throughout his text in order to weave a pleasant story for his audience despite the abnormal behavioral tics that he couldn't overcome for a great majority of his life. Sedaris uses this humor as a base to formulate his story & this humor ultimately helps him convey his purpose to his audiences. The purpose of this excerpt is to show obsessive compulsive behaviors in a light that a reader can comprehend while also bringing awareness to just what exactly goes on in the minds of people with obsessive compulsive behaviors. Sedaris
In 2011 began the start of the Le Roy Hysteria with Katie Krautwurst. Soon the numbers grew, all teenage girls, from 12 all the way to 18 in a school of 600. Many doctors assumed that Katie got tics from stress in her life, as the numbers grew the more people looked into the problem. The girls showed “strange Tourette-like condition with tics”. It is more common the Tourette syndrome is to appear amongst teenage males rather than females. It is so uncommon for a dozen females in the same location to suddenly develop the Tourette syndrome.
It has to appear in someone before the age of 18, and the tics have to occur frequently. There are no specific tests that can be used to diagnose Tourette Syndrome. Doctors will look at a person’s symptoms and look at other tic disorders. “TS can be diagnosed if a person has both motor and vocal tics, and has had tic symptoms for at least a year ("Facts About Tourette Syndrome", 1).” Some common tics that can occur are things such as blinking, jerking your arm, humming, or yelling out words ("Facts About Tourette Syndrome",
The main symptoms of Tourette syndrome are tics, involuntary muscle movements (Bjorklund 12). Although unpredictable, tics are more likely to happen when people are sick or anxious (20). The two types of tics, physical and vocal, can range from mild to severe (12). Mild vocal tics include: spitting, sneezing, throat clearing, coughing, sniffing, and grunting. There are mild physical tics also such as sticking out the tongue (21), shoulder shrugging, eye blinking, and head twitching (20). Tourette syndrome is most often inherited genetically. Tourette’s is a result of a genetic mutation in the brain’s basal ganglia or from a gene mutation in the cerebral cortex of the brain. Scientists also believe this disease can be a result of environmental factors (12). People can get Tourette syndrome from a brain injury or bacterial infections (38).
Trigeminal neuralgia, or tic douloureux, is a well-recognized disorder that most commonly occurs in people over 50 years of age and slightly more commonly in women than in men.( Scrivani et al., 2005) Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by paroxysms of unilateral facial pain, most commonly in the second and third trigeminal divisions, that are severe and lancinating.
Many people who have Tourette’s will say that it is difficult to suppress a tic, and
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is an inherited tic disorder that usually appears in early childhood and is classified by multiple motor tics and verbal tics. (Mayo 2012) Tics are sudden and repetitive movements, with motor tics being physical muscle movements, and verbal tics being sudden vocalization. Common tics range anywhere from constant eye blinking to throat clearing and grunting. Although the word “involuntary” is usually used to describe tics, this is not completely true, a better word would be “compelling.” It wouldn’t be true to say that people with Tourette’s can’t control their tics, some people can hold the tics back for hours at a time, but this only leads to a bigger outburst when they are finally let go. Tics are comparable to
Trigeminal neuralgia is a nerve disorder that causes attacks of severe facial pain. The attacks last from a few seconds to several minutes. They can happen for days, weeks, or months and then go away for months or years. Trigeminal neuralgia is also called tic douloureux.
disorder only happens for a month at a time, while PTSDF could be lifelong. With the symptoms
Dr. say there are many types of Tourette's, in motor Tourette's there are uncontrollable movements like eye blinking, shoulder shrugging, head jerking, and many other body movements. Vocal tics would be one like humming, whistling, throat clearing, or sniffing. This sort of disability lasts up to 6 to 7 years. A lot of the first symptoms start in the facial area and later on move to tics in the arms or legs, and males are 3 to 4 times likely to have Tourette's than
The spasms are likewise prone to seem all the more as often as possible in a few people: pregnant ladies, competitors and the elderly are more worried than the normal.
Tourette Syndrome, or TS, affects approximately one hundred thousand Americans of whom you will find in a variety of professions and social settings (7). It is a neurological disease which is characterized by repeated and involuntary body movements and vocal sounds. Before TS was known to be a health problem uncontrollable by the patient, it was seen as nervousness, possession by a spirit, epilepsy or simply as bad habits (5). Today it is known that imbalances in certain brain chemicals are what causes the symptoms of this disease. It is interesting to examine TS and use it as a tool for better understanding (in part) how, in what quantity, and at what level the brain (and the nervous system as a whole) contribute to
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a disorder of the brain that is observed in people who have involuntary movements or vocalizations called tics. Named after Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette who first discovered this disorder, this French neurologist described a noblewoman who exhibited these symptoms in 1885. These tics could range from repetitive movements to inappropriate vocalizations.
Throughout the movie, Brad got into plenty of trouble because of the tourette syndrome. For example, on his way to a interview for a teaching job, Brad got caught by the cops for speeding. While the cop