An American study shows that when a child manages to suppress his tics, they do not disappear completely. They are just less exposed. By understanding this mechanism, it could prevent the formation of more serious tics.
Eye blinking, throat clearing, sniffling… At least 20% of children of primary school age develop tics. For the most part, these will eventually disappear on their own according to common thought.
But, American researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine have discovered that these tics do not ultimately disappear completely. In reality, children “expose” just fewer tics than before. Understand how they achieve controlling them could prevent other children from developing chronic tics, such as Tourette’s syndrome. The results of this study are published in the journal Journal of Child Neurology.
Children manage to control their tics in public
“We found that the tics were still present a year after they first appeared, but many of the children we studied had figured out how to suppress them,” says Kevin J. Black, professor of psychiatry and one of the lead authors of the study.
To arrive at these results, the researchers examined 45 children who were beginning to develop a type of tic. The latter, 30 boys and 15 girls, were between 5 and 10 years old. To check for tics a year later, the study authors left each child alone in a room with a camera. It turned out that some children, who managed to control their tics during neurological examinations, began to have them again when they were alone.
Researchers have identified factors that can predict maintenance of tics. Among them, a history of anxiety disorders and having three or more vocal tics (clearing the throat, making noises for example). Additionally, children who scored high on the Social Reactivity Scale – a test that measures autism-related behaviors – were also likely to have persistent tic problems.
The reward system, an effective system
To determine if the children could control their tics, the researchers used a reward system. If a child could stay 10 seconds without ticking, he got a token. The most successful had fewer tics at the follow-up visit one year after their tics started.
An encouraging observation for the future according to Kevin J. Black: “[…] from the start – when they have had tics for only a few weeks or months – some children can already suppress them. If we can develop ways to help other children learn these skills, we could improve the quality of life for those who are otherwise at risk of developing a chronic tic, such as Tourette syndrome.”
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