Question: What kind of tics do kids with TS usually get first?
Answer: More than 50 percent of all children with TS develop an eye tic first. However, other first tics may be facial tics, throat clearing (a simple vocal tic), or other combinations of vocal and motor tics.

Question: Does holding in tics hurt? Is there medicine for tics and, if so, does it help?
Answer: Often, depending on the type of tic and the severity, a person does experience soreness and/or tightening of the muscles where the tic occurs. Holding in tics does not usually cause physical pain, but it can cause discomfort. Imagine holding in a sneeze or not scratching an itch-eventually, you just have to do it!

Question: Do tics get better with age?
Answer: Sometimes, kids find that their tics do get better as they get older. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to know who this will happen to or when.

Question: Are there any known foods that cause tics to get worse?
Answer: While some parents report that their child's tics grow worse after eating certain foods, there has been insufficient research done on the impact of food and/or food allergies on tics.

Question: Does taking medication for tics result in long-term effects?
Answer: Talk to your doctor about the long-term effects of medication; he or she can help you assess if the beneficial effects of the medicine on the tics outweigh the risks.

Question: My son's tics aren't that bad, but he doesn't have many friends. Can you help?
Answer: Even if his tics aren't that bad, we've found that an educational intervention in the classroom, like You've Got a Friend, can help increase peer knowledge about the disorder. This might lead to more friendship opportunities for your son.

Question: Are sniffs, deep breaths, and gulping noises other signs of vocal tics? Can they change over time?
Answer: Yes, these are all examples of simple vocal tics. It's not unusual for the types of tics to change in presentation or frequency over time. This is referred to as waxing and waning and is the hallmark of the disorder.

Question: Are children with tics aware of their tics?
Answer: Children with TS are aware of their tics. Although they are involuntary, people with tics often describe what they are doing and even suppress a tic for a little while. Like a sneeze, tics produce a sense of relief when they are completed.

Question: Is it typical for the tics to become worse when more attention is being drawn to them?
Answer: Often, tics get worse during stressful periods; they can also be triggered by things in the environment, like hearing or seeing someone else tic.