Tourette Research Paper

Submitted By angelayers
Words: 485
Pages: 2

Tourette Disorder

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalization called tics. This disorder was diagnosed in 1885 by Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette a french neurologist. The Tourette disorder starts in childhood. Children with Tourette's make sounds or movements such as coughing or twitching that they can't control. The onset is between the ages of 3 and 9 years. Tourrette tends to run in families of all ethnic groups. Males tend to be affected by three to four times more than women. Other risk factors that could cause this is mother's with severe nausea and vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy, drank coffee, smoked cigarettes and alcohol. Other factors could be the baby not getting enough oxygen or blood supply during birth. Although Tourette can be a chronic condition with symptoms lasting a lifetime, most people with the condition experience their worst tic sytoms in their early teens, with improvement occurring in the late teens and continuing into adulthood. Most children with Tourette's have different patterns of tics. The tics may not be obvious. They can be busts of movement or sounds that last for seconds or minutes. Tics are classified as either simple or complex. Simple motor tics are sudden, brief, repetitive movements that involve a limited number of muscle groups. Common simple tics include, eye movement, blinking, shoulders moving, head or shoulders shrugging and facial grimacing. Simple vocalizations might include grunting sounds, sniffing and clearing of the throat. Complex motor tics usually have a combination of tics including facial movement and head twist at the same time. Complex vocalization would be using a words or phrases. Although the symptoms of Tourette are involuntary, some people can suppress, camouflage,or manage their tics in efforts to minimize the impact on functioning. With holding back on this it can cause a build up in tension and then at point the tic needs to be release and