ition.Over 35 million people in America have tics, so TS is hard to diagnose, and the disorder is usually misdiagnosed as a nervous condition, disruptive behavior, and sometimes even allergies. Often, people with mild TS do not even seek medical attention. Simple transient childhood tics occur in 15 to 24% of schoolage children and this too, makes a correct diagnosis difficult to make. (Shimberg, 1995,p.26)It is believed that one in every 200 people in the United States or almost 1.3 million Americans have Tourette syndrome. The disease affects people of all races, social, economical, religious, and cultural backgrounds. Symptoms usually develop between the ages of two and sixteen, but in some rare cases, symptoms have developed as late as twenty-one. TS is also proven to affect 3 boys to every girl. There is no medical explanation for this phenomenon. The most common tics are sniffing, coughing, sneezing, rapid blinking, and head, neck, and shoulder jerks. 80% of those with Tourette have eye and eyelid tics. (Shimberg, 1995,p.74)People with TS develop symptoms that are subtypes of separate disorders. 10 to 30% of Touretters develop coprolalia. Coprolalia is the most disturbing vocal tic. It is marked by the sudden and uncontrollable urge to blurt out unacceptable words or phrases. This includes, but is not limited to, ethnic and religious slurs, crude references to anatomy bodily functions, sexual acts, and derogatory words and phrases. People with coprolalia often have trouble at school and work. Some are able to develop mental coprolalia, or the ability to repeat the words in their head instead of outloud. The medication Haldol helps some of the sufferers of this condition.Copraxia is another subtype. This is a motor tic that incorporates involuntary, and obscene, socially unacceptable actions. Giving the finger and grabbing or pointing at one’s own or other people’s breasts and genitals. This occurs in only a sm...
