Improving Identification of Tic Disorders
Learn about Tourette Syndrome and Other Tic Disorders
Around one million people in the United States have Tourette syndrome or another persistent tic disorder, and more than half of children with Tourette syndrome do not get diagnosed. Identification of tic disorders is the first step to getting people the right diagnosis, treatment, and help they need.
To improve identification and treatment of tic disorders, CDC and partners work to
- Offer trainings for pediatricians
- CDC has partnered with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to develop and offer free virtual trainings on tic disorders. Trainings are available on AAP’s Professional Education (PediaLink) website and qualify for continuing education credits for pediatricians. Training content includes a two-part course:
- Develop ways to screen children for tic disorders
- In addition to education about tics and tic disorders, healthcare professionals need tools to screen and identify tic disorders, and such tools are currently limited. CDC has been working with academic partners to conduct multiple studies on screening and diagnostic tools to improve identification of children with tics and tic disorders:
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- Evaluation of New Instruments for Screening and Diagnosis of Tics and Tic Disorders in a Well-Characterized Sample of Youth with Tics and Recruited Controls
- Brief Youth Self-Report Screener for Tics: Can a Subscale of the Motor Tic, Obsession and Compulsion, and Vocal Tic Evaluation Survey (MOVES) Identify Tic Disorders in Youth?
- Validation of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-5) Tic Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Modules
- Results from this research can be used to improve identification of tics so people with tic disorders can connect with resources when needed.
- Educate and support
- CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities has partnered with the Tourette Association of America (TAA) to provide educational programs to improve awareness of tic disorders and Tourette syndrome so that more people with tic disorders get the right diagnosis, care, and support. The programs use up-to-date, science-based information to educate physicians and allied professionals and school personnel, as well as those who have Tourette syndrome, their families, and the general public, about Tourette syndrome. In addition to education, the CDC-TAA partnership helps people with a tic disorder and their families make meaningful connections: