​Tourette s​yndrome

Tourette syndrome is a type of neurological disorder (that is, related to the brain) that affects children. It is characterized by “tics”, that is, involuntary and unusual repetitive movements or unwanted sounds that you can not control. Tics are brief and purposeless movements, and can be classified as:

• Motor tics: Tics that produce movement

• Vocal tics or phonic tics: Tics that produce sound

Examples of these involuntary movements include blinking, shrugging your shoulders, jerking your head, coughing, sniffing etc. Children between the ages of 2 and 12 typically experience the signs and symptoms of Tourette syndrome, with boys being more likely to develop the symptoms than girls.

In order to be diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, you must display the following characteristics:

• Have two or more motor tics (such as blinking, shrugging the shoulders etc.) and at least one vocal tic (such as humming, clearing the throat, repeatedly yelling out a word or phrase etc.), although they might not always happen at the same time.

• Have had tics for at least one year. These tics can occur as frequently as several times a day or sporadically.

• Tics must begin before you are eighteen years of age.

• Have symptoms that are not due to medication, other drugs or another medical condition such as seizures or Huntington’s​ disease.