Tic disorders and Tourette syndrome

The NHS describes tics as fast, repetitive muscle movements that result in sudden and difficult to control body jolts or sounds. They are fairly common in childhood and typically first appear at around 5 years of age. In most cases tics improve over time or stop completely. Sometimes they last a few months, but often they come and go over several years.

Tourette syndrome is the name used when tics have lasted for more than a year. A GP GP Your family doctor. For many families the GP is the first person to talk to, and the person who refers your child on to a specialist. Read the full definition of GP may think your child has Tourette syndrome if their tics started before the age of 18, have been happening for a year or more, and involve both sounds and movements. Symptoms usually start around the age of 6 and can become more noticeable around age 10. Tourettes Action describes it as a genetically determined neurological condition whose key features are tics, involuntary and uncontrollable sounds and movements.

Tics rarely travel alone. Tourettes Action reports that up to 85% of the TS population will also experience co-occurring Co-occurring When a child has more than one condition or difficulty at the same time. This is common: for example, ADHD is more common in autistic people. Read the full definition of Co-occurring features and conditions, and that ADHD ADHD ADHD is a difference in the way a child's brain works. It affects how they pay attention, how much energy they have, and how easily they act on impulse. Read the full definition of ADHD is the most common co-occurring condition with TS. If tics are what brought you here, it is worth reading the ADHD and autism entries too.

One thing worth knowing early: telling a child to stop is not a strategy. Tics are not chosen. Most children can suppress a tic briefly, at a real cost in effort and discomfort, and it usually returns stronger afterwards.