What Is Tourettes Syndrome?
- Mable Green
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
Tourette’s Syndrome (also called Tourette syndrome) is a neurological condition that causes people to have tics that they don’t do on purpose. It usually starts in childhood, often between the ages of 5 and 10, and involves sudden, repetitive movements or sounds.
What Are Tics?
Tics come in two main types:
1️⃣ Motor Tics (movement)
Blinking a lot
Facial grimacing
Shoulder shrugging
Head jerking
2️⃣ Vocal Tics (sounds)
Throat clearing
Sniffing
Grunting
Repeating words
A lot of people think Tourette’s always involves shouting swear words. That can happen, but it’s actually rare.
What Causes It?
Tourette’s is linked to differences in how certain parts of the brain work — especially areas that control movement and impulses.
It’s believed to involve:
Genetics (it can run in families)
Brain chemistry (like dopamine levels)
It is not caused by bad parenting, trauma, or lack of discipline.
How common is Tourette's syndrome?
It affects about 1 in 100 children in mild forms. Boys are diagnosed more often than girls.
Does It Go Away?
For many kids:
Tics improve in the teen years.
Some outgrow most symptoms.
Others continue to have mild tics into adulthood
Stress, excitement, or anxiety can temporarily worsen tics.
Living With Tourette’s
People with Tourette’s are:
Just as intelligent as anyone else
Capable of thriving in school, careers, and relationships
Often incredibly resilient
Some well-known people with Tourette’s have spoken openly about it, helping reduce stigma.
What It Feels Like to Have a Tic
The “urge” builds up.
Most people with Tourette syndrome describe something called a premonitory urge.
It’s like:
An itch under your skin
Pressure is building in a muscle.
A sneeze that hasn’t happened yet
That feeling right before you blink when your eyes burn
There’s a rising tension that feels uncomfortable—sometimes intensely so.
The tic relieves it
When the tic happens, it’s like:
Finally scratching the itch.
Finally sneezing
Finally blinking
There’s a brief sense of relief.
But here’s the catch: The relief is temporary. The urge usually builds again.
Can people “just stop”?
This is where it gets tricky.
Many people can suppress a tic for a short time — especially in school, work, or public settings. But suppressing feels like:
Holding in a cough
Not scratching a mosquito bite.
Trying not to blink
You can do it… But it takes energy. And eventually, the tic usually comes out later, sometimes stronger.
The emotional side of it
Beyond the physical sensation, there’s often:
Frustration
Embarrassment (especially in kids)
Anxiety about people staring
Exhaustion from constant self-control
And ironically, stress tends to make tics worse. It’s a frustrating loop.
Not everyone feels the urgency
Younger children sometimes don’t notice the buildup — they just tic. Older kids and adults are more likely to recognise the “pressure” feeling beforehand.
If you’re asking because of a child you work with (I know you’re in the Special Needs space), understanding this urge piece is huge. It changes the perspective from “Why are they doing that?” to “They’re trying to relieve something uncomfortable.”
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