A Brief Summary

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder which becomes evident in early childhood or adolescence before the age of 18 years.   It is characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. The disorder is named for Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette, the pioneering French neurologist who in 1885 first described the condition in an 86-year-old French noblewoman.

The early symptoms of TS are almost always noticed first in childhood, with the average onset between the ages of 7 and 10 years.  The first symptoms usually are involuntary movements of the face, arms, limbs or trunk.  Tics are frequent, repetitive and rapid.  The most common first symptom is a facial tic (eye blink, nose twitch, grimace), and is replaced or added to by other tics of the neck, trunk, and limbs.  These involuntary tics may also be complicated, involving the entire body, such as kicking and stamping.  Many persons report what is described as premonitory urges to perform the tic.  A similarly defined example would be an itch that is satisfied by scratching.

There are also verbal tics (vocalizations) that usually occur in conjunction with the physical movements.  These vocalizations include grunting, throat clearing, shouting and barking.  Although it is very rare, verbal tics may also be expressed as coprolalia (the involuntary use of obscene words or socially inappropriate words and phrases), echolalia (repeating words of others), or palilalia (repeating one's own words).  Despite widespread publicity, coprolalia is uncommon with tic disorders.  Echolalia, palilalia or coprolalia do not have to be present for a diagnosis of TS.  However, for a confirmed diagnosis both involuntary physical movements and vocalizations must be present.   Although the symptoms of TS vary from person to person and range from very mild to severe, the majority of cases fall into the mild category.

Other symptoms and associated conditions can include attention problems (ADHD/ADD), impulsiveness, touching, repetitive thoughts, oppositional defiant disorder, obsessive compulsive behavior, and learning disabilities.

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