Written by: Manaswi Sapkota - 26004, Grade VIII
Posted on: 20 September, 2021
Tourette’s Syndrome also known as TS is a condition of the nervous system. This syndrome causes people to have something called “tics.” Well, tics are sudden movements, sounds, twitches, etc that people produce repeatedly, People who have tics cannot really control them.
Tics and Tourette’s aren’t exactly the same thing. Tics are of two types motor tics which are physical tics like twitching, shrugging, etc and they cannot be controlled. The second type is phonic tics also known as vocal tics which are sounds produced by a person such as clicking of tongue or uttering words, basically anything related to vocal cords. This type of tics cannot be controlled either and both motor and phonic tics are sudden. Now about Tourettes. To be diagnosed with TS (Tourette’s syndrome) one must have gotten 2 motor tics and 1 phonic tic within a year.
Tourette’s Syndrome does have some symptoms like;
Eye shift and other motions of the eye, facial grimacing, shoulder slog, and head or shoulder slotting are simple motor tics. Complex motor tics might involve face shouldering with the shoulder shrug and twist of the head. Other sophisticated motor tics can look intentional, like hopping, leaping, bending, or twisting, smelling, or touching items.
Repeated throat clearing, sniffing, barking, or grunting noises are included as simple vocal tics. Complex vocal tics may be the use of common, offensive, or swear words and repeat words or phrases, more seldom.
Tics can be triggered while doing certain work or wearing or hearing certain things. For example, If a TS patient is wearing a tight collar or something tight around their neck it might trigger neck tics and so on.
Well, Tourette’s Syndrome doesn’t have an accurate cure but can be suppressed using medication and therapy. People who have TS are often bullied or teased which causes them to have ADHD, anxiety, OCD, and other disorders. These disorders also affect or trigger tics. So awareness about TS should be spread, and reduce the teasing and shaming culture that can minimize causing too much damage to one.
Tics are harmful and put one’s life at risk. That is because motor tics can also include one slamming its head against the wall repeatedly or just doing anything that will harm the body physically. Phonic tics also harm one’s vocal cords and might cause infections. This harms a person a lot so awareness towards TS should be spread. So, isn’t it a high time we start normalizing talks about conditions like Tics? Because acceptance is the first step in making this world a better place.
