Has my little boy got Tourettes syndrome?
I think it is unlikely that your son has Tourette’s syndrome (TS). TS is an inherited neurological disorder which causes the individual to show repeated uncontrollable movements called tics and sometimes uncontrollable noises. The symptoms usually appear before 18 years of age and range form very mild to quite severe. The first symptoms are usually facial tics – commonly eye blinking. With time other tics may appear such as head jerking, neck stretching, foot stamping or body twisting and bending. A person with TS may continuously clear his or her throat, cough, sniff, grunt, yelp, bark or shout. People with TS can occasionally suppress their tics for a short time but eventually tension builds up to the point where the tic escapes. Tics get worse in stressful situations and improve when the person is relaxed or busy with an activity. There is no test for TS; the diagnosis is made by observing the symptoms and looking at the family history as at least one other family member often also
