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ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome

© Valerie de Armas

I know I promised a surprise in this article, but I'm afraid it's not quite ready yet. I hope to be able to get everything together by next time. In the meantime, I've prepared an article for you about Tourette's Syndrome. Hope you enjoy it! All of a sudden your classmate blinks his eyes repeatedly and starts repeating every word you say. You start to ask yourself if he's gone completely nuts when you're told he has something called Tourette's Syndrome.

I wanted to explore Tourette's Syndrome because many people who have Tourette's also have ADHD or at least have significant ADHD symptoms. Over one hundred years ago, a French neurologist named Georges Gilles de la Tourette first described this syndrome, which is characterized by motor and vocal tics. Today, in order to be diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, one must have both motor and vocal tics and the symptoms must be present for more than a year.

Motor tics can be physical movements such as repetitive eye blinking, shrugging, head turning, etc. Vocal tics can be anything from coughing to cursing. There are three types of vocal tics that are common to Tourette's Syndrome. Coprolalia is an uncontrollable outburst of profanity, echolalia is compulsive repetition of words or sounds one hears another make, and palilalia is the repetition of one's own words or sounds. There is variation from day to day as to how severe tics are, but in general over the lifetime of a Tourette's sufferer, tics worsen at or about puberty and become milder as the person ages. Tourette's Syndrome is an inherited condition that seems to be somewhat more common in boys. In girls who carry the gene carrying Tourette's, about 66% have symptoms significant enough to be diagnosed. For the remaining 34%, many are diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This leads one to believe that the two disorders are related. More studies need to be done to determine the relationship between the two disorders.

It is uncertain whether Tourette's and ADHD are actually related in any way. Oftentimes, ADHD symptoms appear and a child is diagnosed and treated with Ritalin. In about 30-40% of children who have Tourette's, Ritalin will make the tics worse. When this happens, often doctors change the diagnosis to Tourette's and some other medication is prescribed.

The most commonly prescribed drug for Tourette's Syndrome is Haloperidol or its brand name, Haldol. It works well for most people in controlling tics, but sometimes has a sedative effect. Other drugs used to treat Tourette's are Pimozine and Clonidine, a blood pressure drug. Other sedative-type drugs or antidepressant drugs are used as well.

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