Symptoms of tics in children

Tourette syndrome in children is a particularly common disease and a health problem that affects the development and growth of many children. Therefore, we must be aware of the various symptoms that may occur in children with tics, so that when children show symptoms of tics, parents can discover the problems with their children in the first time. Below, I will introduce the specific symptoms of tics in detail!

1. Voice tics

(1) Simple vocal tics are characterized by rapid, meaningless, monotonous repetitions, such as constant throat clearing, coughing, and involuntary screams such as "Hum..." and "Ah..."

(2) Complex sound tics may present in the form of meaningful short sentences or more complex sentences. Some may also present as repetitive, stereotyped complete sentences or even foul language.

2. Motor tics

(1) Simple motor tics such as blinking, raising eyebrows, wrinkling nose, sticking out tongue, licking lips, nodding, shaking head, shrugging shoulders, and snapping fingers occur alternately.

(2) Complex motor tics are more complete or slower tics, such as eye movements, facial twitches leading to a specific expression, or gestures of the shoulders, arms, hands, or feet. If the child suddenly reaches out to slap someone, touches furniture, hits himself or herself, or performs dystonia postures such as spinning, jumping, straightening up, or bending the waist and abdomen, he or she is often misunderstood and disliked by people around him or her. The child may have to stop going to school or stay at home, and then become withdrawn and hostile to others, leading to social function and personality disorders.

3. Other behavioral disorders

(1) Some children develop attention deficit, emotional instability, learning difficulties, and aggressive behaviors such as screaming, banging walls, threatening, and attacking others. Some children also exhibit abnormal sexual or indecent behavior.

(2) Compulsive behaviors and obsessive thoughts appear relatively late in this syndrome, interfering with the child’s normal life. They are difficult to get rid of and are very painful. Manifestations include compulsive counting, compulsive checking, compulsive cleaning, etc.

(3) Although the children have learning difficulties, their IQ is usually normal. Some children may have mild or unstable abnormal neurological signs or non-specific EEG changes. Most brain CT scans are normal.