Tic Disorders

Last reviewed Saturday, October 24, 2026

Tic disorders are conditions in which a person makes sudden, quick, repeated movements or sounds, called tics, that they don’t choose and find hard to control. Tics usually start in childhood, around age 5 or 6, and often ease after puberty. Tourette syndrome is the name used when movement and vocal tics have lasted a year or more.

Also called: tics; motor tics and vocal (or phonic) tics; transient tic disorder, for tics that last less than a year; chronic tic disorder; Tourette syndrome, Tourette’s or Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

Signs and symptoms

Motor tics: blinking, rolling the eyes, grimacing, wrinkling the nose, shrugging, jerking the head, jumping, or touching things or people.
Vocal tics: sniffing, clearing the throat, coughing, grunting, whistling, or repeating a sound, word or phrase. Swearing tics are rare.
The urge: many people feel an uncomfortable sensation building up before a tic, which the tic relieves. Tics can sometimes be held back for a while.
The pattern: tics come and go, change over time, and tend to get worse with stress, tiredness or excitement, or when people talk about them.

Tics are common in childhood. A review of studies from many countries found short-lived tics in about 3 in 100 children and Tourette syndrome in about 1 in 130, more often in boys. They are much less common in adults.

Causes

The cause isn’t fully known. Tics are thought to come from changes in the parts of the brain that control movement, and they often run in families. They are not chosen, so a child with tics isn’t being rude or naughty. Tics often come with ADHD or OCD. Rarely, they are set off by drugs such as cocaine or amphetamines, or by other conditions that affect the brain.

Treatment

Mild tics often need no treatment. Tics are not usually serious and they don’t damage the brain. European guidelines recommend starting with psychoeducation: helping the person, the family and the school understand tics.

When tics cause pain, distress or problems at school or work, behavioural therapy is the first-line treatment:

Habit reversal training, and its expanded form, the Comprehensive Behavioural Intervention for Tics (CBIT), teach a “competing” movement that makes the tic hard to do at the same time.
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) helps a person get used to the urge without giving in to it.

Habit reversal and CBIT can also be delivered by video. Medicines, prescribed by a specialist doctor, may be used alongside these therapies or when they haven’t helped. A steady daily routine, physical activity, a calm bedtime and less stress also help.

In Nigeria

There is little Nigerian research on tics. Published Nigerian reports describe only a handful of cases of Tourette syndrome, and one notes that the diagnosis is easily missed. Whatever people around a child believe is behind the tics, scolding, punishing or drawing attention to them tends to make them worse. Tics can also lead to teasing, bullying and isolation at school, so it helps to tell the school once a doctor has assessed the child.

Tic disorders vs Tourette syndrome

Lots of children have tics at some point, and most don’t have Tourette syndrome. Tourette syndrome means both movement and vocal tics, starting before 18 and lasting a year or more. WHO’s ICD-11 classes it as a neurological condition. Tics also differ from the compulsions of OCD, which are done to ease an obsessive fear, though the two often occur together. A specialist may run tests such as an EEG to rule out other conditions.

When to get help

For a child or teenager, start with a family doctor or paediatrician. See one if tics are frequent or getting worse, cause pain, lead to teasing or bullying, get in the way of school, or come with anger, low mood or self-harm. A short video of the tic can help the doctor, but try not to draw attention to it while filming. The school counsellor can help teachers understand. If a child is distressed or unsafe, Cece Yara Foundation’s free 24-hour child helpline is 0800 800 8001.

For parents, you can book a licensed therapist for yourself on Mytherapist.ng through family and parenting therapy.

For adults with tics, see a doctor first. You can also book a licensed therapist who offers CBT and skills-based therapy; ask whether they are trained in habit reversal or CBIT.

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