Tics: short lasting movements or uttered sounds that occur during normal behavior they are repetitive, involuntary movements can be either simple or complex people can suppress them overtime believed to get worse with stress
Types of Tics Simple Vocal Tics: simple utterance of sound ex: throat clearing, grunting
Complex Vocal Tics: more complex, dramatic utterance of sounds ex: coprolalia (swearing)
Simple Motor Tic: short-lasting, repeatative, sudden movements ex: eye-blinking, nose twitching, head jerking
Complex Motor Tic: series of movements performed in the same order ex: kicking out one leg with the other, constant touching of something
How to Diagnose: Two of more motor tics and one vocal tic Has tics for at least a year Tics happen multiple times a day Tics began before 18 years old