Tourette Syndrome
"When I breathe, it breathes. When I speak, it speaks. When I try to sleep, it won't let me. Whatever I attempt to do, it's there, waiting to spoil the moment. To a doctor, it's a disorder, a medical oddity. To an onlooker, it's a spectacle—perhaps humorous, perhaps grotesque. To me, it's a monster, a demon, a hellish beast who has no right to exist in my world or anyone else's—it's my unwelcome companion," wrote Rick Fowler, a sufferer of Tourette syndrome. In a recent film, one of the characters suffered from TS. This disease was portrayed as humorous and easily controlled. However, actual research of TS shows quite the opposite.
Touretts syndrome is mainly known as a tic disorder. Tics are involuntary, rapid, repetitive, and stereotyped movements of individual muscle groups (Bruun, 1984, p. 2). However, Tourette's is not the only tic disorder that one can have. A transient tic disorder begins during the early school years, occurring in up to 15 percent of all children. These tics are said to not persist for more than a year, but it is not uncommon for a child to have a series of transient tics over the course of several years. Chronic tic disorders are differentiated from those that are transient, not only by their duration, but by their relatively unchanging character (1984, p. 4). These tics are said to persist unchanged for years. Chronic multiple tics suggest that an individual has several chronic motor tics, with a hard line between to determine the differences. The most debilitating tic disorder is Tourette syndrome (Fowler, 1996, p. 26). TS is a complex behavioral disorder that is poised between the mind and body, governed by innate vulnerabilities and environment...
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Tics are the most common symptom of Tourette syndrome. A tic is an involuntary, repetitive movement of muscles usually in the face, neck, shoulders, trunk and hands (Diane, 2011, p.662). Symptoms of Tourette syndrome is often first noticed during childhood, between ages 7 and 10. Most children with Tourette syndrome also have other medical problems such as ADHD and OCD Tourette syndrome exhibit multiple behavioral symptoms including ADHD and OCD, which, like Tourette syndrome, are clinically diagnosed without testing (Chiu, 2013, p.406). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision, motor and vocal tics are classified as simple or complex (Diane, 2011, p.663). Simple motor tics include eye blinking, neck jerking, shoulder shrugging, head banging, head turning, tongue protrusion, nail biting, hair pulling, and facial grimacing (Diane, 2011, p.663). Some examples of complex motor tics are facial gestures, grooming behaviors, hitting or biting oneself, jumping, hopping, touching, squatting, retracing steps, smelling an object, and imitating the movements of ...
One out of every 360 children have Tourettes. Tourette’s is a neurological disorder, which means that it takes place in the nervous system. It affects males three to four times more than females. There’s no exact known reason as to why. Symptoms begin at ages three to nine, and typically, the first sign is excessive blinking. This
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Tourette syndrome is commonly diagnosed in children following an onset of tics between the ages of 6 and 9 years (Galvez-Jimenez, 2012, p. S35). In many circumstances, Tourette syndrome occurs alongside one or more additional disorders, such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I was diagnosed with both Tourette syndrome and OCD at eight years of age following an explosion of tics, twitches, and obsessive-compulsive behavior. To be formally diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, a patient must be under 18 years old and exhibit multiple motor tics and at least one phonic or “verbal” tic for at least one year (Galvez-Jenez, 2012, p. S35). Tics are sudden, repeated, involuntary body movements or vocal projections that are classified as “phonic” or as “motor.” Motor tics are sudden, impulsive, purposeless body ...
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Whenever John and his mother drive to Rite Aid, he insists that they take the same route every single time. Whenever he steps into a new Rite Aid, he must walk around for five to ten minutes and when he would come home, he would draw a perfectly memorized layout of the floor plan of that particular drug store. Often times, it is difficult for John to make eye contact with others, and instead he may fidget, rock his body back and forth, or even hit his head against the wall. These abnormal behaviors can be attributed to the fact that John was diagnosed with a disorder called Autism at the age of three.
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“Children with characteristics of an ASD may have co-occurring conditions, including Fragile X syndrome (which cause mental retardation), tuberous sclerosis, epileptic seizures, Tourette syndrome, learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorder. About 20 to 30 percent of children with an ASD develop epilepsy by the time they reach adulthood.” (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2013)
According to Elias, Binit, and Shah (2014) it is estimated the 10 million to 20 million Americans suffers from ET and 6.3 % of the population is affected worldwide. The average age of onset is 52, but can present at ages greater than 60 and as young as 8 years old. Males are minimally affected more than women and there is no discrimination related to the patients’ race. ETs is a progressive disease that can negatively impact patients’ gross motor skill such as writing, getting dressed, cooking meals, fine motor skills such as writing thus causing distress at home and in the work environment. This disease can have a great impact on the patient mental health resulting from co...
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Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome is one of a number of tic disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. The Tic Disorders can be distinguished from one another based on duration and variety of tics and the age at onset. Tourette’s Disorder has duration of more than 12 months.