Motor skills and Tourette's

[David Baxter PhD]

Motor skills and Tourette's
Monday, June 19, 2006
by John Gale

Tourette's syndrome usually begins between the ages of five and six, peaks between ten and twelve and - in a half to two-thirds of cases - gets better during adolescence. For those people whose tics continue into adulthood Tourette's can cause huge amounts of pain and embarrassment and can lead on to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Studies have shown that children with Tourette's often have worse hand-eye coordination and motor skills than those without the condition. A study of 32 children between eight and fourteen in the U.S. assessed their co-ordination then followed them up seven-and-a-half years later to see whether they still had Tourette's or not. Those children who performed worst on the co-ordination tests between eight and fourteen were found to be more likely to be suffering from Tourette's at the follow-up stage.

Bloch, Michael H. ... [et al] - Fine-motor skill deficits in childhood predict adulthood tic severity and global psychosocial functioning in Tourette's syndrome Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry June 2006, 47(6), 551-559

 

[Retired]

Studies have shown that children with Tourette's often have worse hand-eye coordination and motor skills than those without the condition.

Whew! Finally an explanation why my golf game is so sporadic :roll: I think I feel better already

For those people whose tics continue into adulthood Tourette's can cause huge amounts of pain and embarrassment

Luckily there is more awareness today so people can learn strategies to deal with their own version of the disorder. Everyone's Tourette is different in degree as well as in expression. By participating in support and information resources, people can learn techniques which can lessen the pain and embarrassment, which was more prevalent even as recently as fifteen or twenty years ago.

Thank you for sharing that information, David.