Tourette’s Syndrome Myths … as its Tourette’s Syndrome Awareness we’ve decided to bust some common myths about Tourette’s. How many of these have you heard before?

Everyone With Tourette’s Syndrome Swears

Coprolalia is the word used to describe the compulsive outbursts of inappropriate words and phrases. Probably because of TV & Film people think that everyone with Tourette’s has Coprolalia but that is not true. Only 1 in 10 people with Tourette’s has Coprolalia!

Everyone With A Tic Has Tourette’s

One misconception is if you have a tic you must have Tourette’s Syndrome. Actually to be diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome you must display 2 different motor tics and 1 vocal tic for at least a year. So just because you have a tic does not mean your have Tourette’s.

You Can Control Tics

Some people with Tourette’s will tell you that they can suppress their tics but that doesn’t mean they can control them. As much as someone may want to control their tics unfortunately that’s not the way it works. So when someone is ticking please be aware it is out of their control!

Only Children Have Tourette’s Syndrome

Most people with Tourette’s will be diagnosed in childhood but Tourette’s does not go away. You can learn to manage your symptoms and sometimes tics can improve but if you are diagnosed with Tourette’s as a child you won’t grow out of it.

Tourette’s Syndrome Is Caused By Bad Parenting

Yet another thing that people struggle to understand gets blamed on bad parenting. Tourette’s Syndrome is a neurological condition and the cause is unknown. Certain emotional and environmental factors can increase the severity of tics but it IS NOT caused by bad parenting!

You can find out more about Tourette’s Syndrome by visiting Tourette’s Action.

A tic feels like eating a donut and needing to lick the sugar off your lips