So what is Tourette's Syndrome and who is affected?

Tourette's Syndrome: It is a Neurological Disorder where the person has uncontrollable, involuntary, and repetitive movements or vocalizations.

So, in simple terms, in a person's brain, you have an area called the Basal Ganglia, which helps to control your body movement. When someone has Tourette's, it means that the Basal Ganglia is acting up due to different genetic genes or chemicals. This will make parts of the body twitch (move) or by vocal sounds.

When you have Tourette's, you have body movements or sounds you can not help. There are medications present to help suppress some tics for those who have it more severe, but nothing is a fix all.

People with Tourette's can not control for the most part their motor or vocal tics. In fact, it was discovered in an 86 year old French noblewomen in 1885 by a French neurologist named Georges Gilles de la Tourette.

Who is affected:

Worldwide, it is difficult to know the exact numbers since it is a disorder still not totally understand or known about in certain areas. The average numbers are usually diagnosed between 3 years old and 17 years old. During this time, the ticcing will usual start to appear and increase.

For some, it can seem like just a small habit that you just can't stop no matter how hard you try. The CDC estimated that there is around 200,000 people with moderate to severe Tourette's in the US alone. Also boys are 3 times more likely to have Tourette's than girls.

Famous people who have TS:

• Dan Aykroyd (Famous for Ghostbuster, Blues Brothers, Spies Like Us, Trading Places, Driving Miss Daisy)

• Billie Eilish (Singer/Songwriter)

• Howard Hudges (Buisness magnate from the early 1900's known for his Hudges Aircraft Company where he invented the Spruce Goose)

• Jamie Grace Harper (Singer/Rapper/Songwriter/Actress)

• Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Basketball player with most accurate free throws)

• Tim Howard (Soccer goalie)

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Famous music composer/thought to have TS)

• Michael Wolff (Jazz musician)

• Steve Wallace (NASCAR Driver)

• David Beckham (Soccer)

• Howie Mandel (Comedian and host of Deal or No Deal Show)

Examples of Tics (repetitive):

• Eye blinking

• Shoulder shrugging

• Head jerking or banging

• Nose wrinkling or grimacing

• Fingers clicking

• Vocal grunts or clearing

• Coughing or sniffling

• Echolalia: Repeating of words or sounds

• Coprolalia: Swear words, obscene phrases/language (only present in 10-15%)

Is It Mental?

No, it is not a mental disease. It is a neurological disorder. Some other examples of neurological disorders, are Alzheimer's disease, Seizures, Epilepsy, and Cerebal Aneurysm to name a few. Tourette's is not related to any of these, it is it's own neurological disorder.

Other diagnoses that go hand in hand with it?

• Speech or language type of problems

• ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

• Learning Disabilities

• Depression

• OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)

• Anxiety problems

Does it go away?

In most cases, no it will never go away. In some cases as a person gets older the tics lessen some, while some others it never does, even with medication.

World resources for different countries:

Need support or want to know more about it in your neck of the woods, then check out, TS around the world, a great site that can direct you to your countries own Tourette's webpage.

Might be wondering why I wrote about Tourette's?

Well it is because I have Tourette's myself. I love to travel and have met other people in other countries who don't know what it is or have it themselves without ever knowing. It has been an interesting life so far and the more people who can be educated, the more can be helped.

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