Repetitive behaviors can include handwashing, checking things, and cleaning, and can significantly interfere with daily life. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Behaviors (OCD/OCB): repetitive, unwanted thoughts, ideas, or sensations (obsessions) that make the person feel the need to perform behaviors repeatedly or in a certain way (compulsions).Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), including problems with concentration, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.The most common co-occurring conditions include: Although most individuals with TS experience a significant decline in motor and vocal tics in late adolescence and early adulthood, the associated neurobehavioral conditions may continue into adulthood. Many individuals with TS experience additional co-occurring neurobehavioral problems (how the brain affects emotion, behavior, and learning) that often cause more impairment than the tics themselves. Tics in response to an environmental trigger can appear to be voluntary or purposeful but are not. However, people with TS often report a substantial buildup in tension when suppressing their tics to the point where they feel that the tic must be expressed (against their will).

Tics do not go away during light sleep but are often significantly diminished they go away completely in deep sleep.Īlthough the symptoms of TS are unwanted and unintentional (called involuntary), some people can suppress or otherwise manage their tics to minimize their impact on functioning. Hearing another person sniff or clear the throat may trigger similar sounds. Certain physical experiences can trigger or worsen tics for example, tight collars may trigger neck tics. Tics are often worse with excitement or anxiety and better during calm, focused activities. Some with TS will describe a need to complete a tic in a certain way or a certain number of times to relieve the urge or decrease the sensation. Some tics are preceded by an urge or sensation in the affected muscle group (called a premonitory urge). Some of the most dramatic and disabling tics may include motor movements that result in self-harm such as punching oneself in the face or vocal tics such as echolalia or swearing. Complex vocal tics may include repeating one’s own words or phrases, repeating others’ words or phrases (called echolalia), or more rarely, using vulgar, obscene, or swear words (called coprolalia).Simple vocal tics include repetitive throat clearing, sniffing, barking, or grunting sounds.Other complex motor tics may appear purposeful, including sniffing or touching objects, hopping, jumping, bending, or twisting.Įxamples of vocal (phonic) tics in Tourette syndrome Complex motor tics might include facial grimacing combined with a head twist and a shoulder shrug.Simple motor tics include eye blinking and other eye movements, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, and head or shoulder jerking.

They are more common than complex tics.Ĭomplex tics: distinct, coordinated patterns of movement involving several muscle groups.Įxamples of motor tics seen in Tourette syndrome Simple tics: sudden, brief, repetitive movements that involve a limited number of muscle groups. They may range from very mild to severe, although most cases are mild. The motor (involving movement) or vocal (involving sound) tics of Tourette syndrome are classified as either simple or complex. Top What are the signs and symptoms of Tourette syndrome? TS is not a degenerative condition (one that continues to get worse) and individuals with TS have a normal life expectancy. In some cases, tics may worsen in adulthood. Some individuals may become tic-free or no longer need medication to control their tics.

Many people do not need treatment when symptoms do not interfere with daily life. For some people, TS can be a chronic condition with symptoms that last into adulthood. Most people with TS experience their worst tic symptoms in their early teens, but tics typically lessen and become controlled by the late teens to early 20s. Motor tics generally occur before the development of vocal tics and simple tics often precede complex tics. Tics come and go over time, varying in type, frequency, location, and severity. The first symptoms usually occur between the ages of 5 and 10 years, generally in the head and neck area and may progress to include muscles of the trunk and arms and legs. There is no cure for TS, but treatments are available to help manage some symptoms. TS is one of a group of disorders of the developing nervous system called tic disorders. Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by sudden, repetitive, rapid, and unwanted movements or vocal sounds called tics. What are the signs and symptoms of Tourette syndrome?

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