Tourette Syndrome

There is a disease in the world that claims 5 in 10,000 people. One that is inherited from the parents and a disease ridiculed on the internet. That disease is Tourette Syndrome. Tourette Syndrome according to Dictionary.com is “A severe neurological disorder characterized by multiple facial and other body tics, usually beginning in childhood or adolescence and often accompanied by grunts and compulsive utterances, as of interjections and obscenities (Dictionary.com)”. It is true to say that Tourette Syndrome is an unfortunate and inopportune illness that has temporary cures for today’s society. This paper will contain its history and origins, the nature of spontaneous movement (or Tics), some educational challenges, some symptoms and signs of a child with Tourette Syndrome and a conclusion.

Tourette syndrome is also recognized as Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, after the neurologist who named the disorder in 1885. Until the end of the nineteenth century, movement disorders were diagnosed as Chorea, a Greek word meaning dance. In 1825, the first description of a patient with Tourettes disorder appeared in a paper, who described a French woman who displayed not only involuntary tics, but also obscene vocalizations. Since the age of seven, she suffered from involuntary compulsive spasms in her arms and hands. Increasingly, her symptoms grew worse. At the time, the paper could only explain the illness as a psychopathic irritation of the brain. Gilles de la Tourette created an experiment, using nine patients with six of him his own. He called the illness a nervous affliction characterized by generalized motor in-coordination and noises, followed by vocal outbursts. Gilles de la Tourette was the first physician to identify the distinctive development of this odd disorder. The first symptoms are from motor skills, most frequently of the face, especially eye blinking and spreading to the upper limbs. As the disorder continues, symptoms become verbal, including disjointed and confused cries. The second symptom, he categorized, is Echolalia, repetition of ones own words. The final symptom is called vocalization of obscenities. Gilles de la Tourette also made reference to the disorders early onset, which usually occurs before puberty, its male majority, and the progressive nature of symptoms, new ones extra to or replacing old ones.

According to Wikipedia.org, Tics are “a repetitive, stereotyped, nonrhythmic, involuntary movement (motor tic) or sound (phonic tic) (Wikipedia.org)”. Phonic tics are random sounds coming from the mouth, throat or nose. There are also complex phonic tics in which they repeat what other people say, or obscene and prohibited words. Motor tics are sudden movements by the muscles. A complex motor tic is one in which people touching others objects, and clothing. Tourette Syndrome also develops associated behavioral problems. These problems include obsessions, compulsions, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. Today, clinical investigators have endeavored to characterize both the features of tics and the associated mental states.

Various combinations of several problems may impair the school performance of a child with Tourette Syndrome. Direct effects of motor and vocal tics upon the act of specific learning tasks are apparent in public speaking and writing. Fine motor tasks may be complicated to perform when a tic can cause a writing utensil or scissors to fly out of the child’s grip. Vocal tics may interfere with oral expression. Attempts by the child to suppress tics voluntarily in classroom may redirect the energy needed for attending to classroom activities. Additionally, school performance may be inhibited by medications used to treat tics due to a variety of associated side effects, including drowsiness, cognitive blunting, anxiety, school-phobic reactions and despair.

As a group, Tourette Syndrome patients have demonstrated a high percentage of attention, educational and learning difficulties. On a series of tests done to children aged 5-15, one sample demonstrated tremendous difficulty with independent reading. They also had a problem with sustained handwriting and possessed