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How is tourette syndrome diagnosed?

Answer:

Criteria that are set by the American Psychiatric Association.

The patient must have 2 or more motor or movement twitches. Common ones are eye blinking, head jerks or compulsive shrugging.
They must have at least one phonic or sound twitch. Common ones are barking, papalia (repeating ones own words) and grunting/groaning.
These must have been ongoin for a period of LONGER than a year, with no more than 3 consecutive months without a twitch. The twitches almost always occur multiple times a day.
The patient must be or have been younger than 18 years of age when the twitches began. The most common time of onset is 7-10. My own became apparent at age 3. This does NOT mean they did not have the gene, it was just "dormant" for those previous years.
The twitches must not be the result of substances, legal or illegal, that the patient is taking, such as stimulants (caffeine, cocaine etc.) or hallucinogenics (marijuana, nutmeg etc.).
The twitches must not be the result of the direct psychological effects of a disease (e.g. Huntington's Disease or postviral encephalitis to name but two).

The patient does not need a family history of the condition, but if there is no history and the patient is over the age of 12, a drug screening may be asked for to rule out any legal or illegal substances the patient may have partaken in, and an MRI and CT scan may be asked for to rule out psychological defects. If your family does have a history of it, you probably only need to obey the criteria above.

First answer by Maxiaxie. Last edit by Maxiaxie. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].

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