Tourette Syndrome is referred to in the mental health community as a 'tic disorder'.
Tics are defined as "sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly." They are involuntary and the a person with a tic disorder cannot prevent them from occurring. Tics may come in the form of a motor tic (such as repetitive blinking) or a vocal tic (such as a grunt).
Tic Disorders in the DSM
According to the latest version of the DSM, the DSM-5, there are three established tic disorders:
- Tourette Syndrome (or Tourette’s disorder)
- Persistent motor or vocal tic disorder
- Provisional tic disorder
These tic disorders are distinguished from one another by tic type and duration of symptoms.
In Tourette Syndrome, patients will have both motor and vocal tics, and their symptoms will have persisted for at least one year.
Tourette Syndrome Diagnosis
According to the Centers for Disease Control, in order for a diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome to be made, the patient must:
- have both multiple motor tics (for example, blinking or shrugging the shoulders) and vocal tics (for example, humming, clearing the throat, or yelling out a word or phrase), although they might not always happen at the same time
- have had tics for at least a year. The tics can occur many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly every day, or off and on
- have tics that begin before he or she is 18 years of age
- have symptoms that are not due to taking medicine or other drugs or due to having another medical condition (for example, seizures, Huntington disease, or postviral encephalitis)
These are generalized criteria. In order for a proper evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment course, the reader should, if necessary, consult a qualified health professional.
