Types of tic disorders
The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-5, is used by health professionals to help diagnose tic disorders.
Three tic disorders are included in the DSM-5-TR:
- Tourette syndrome (TS, sometimes called Tourette disorder)
- Persistent (sometimes called chronic) motor or vocal tic disorder
- Provisional tic disorder
Tourette syndrome
To be diagnosed with TS, a person must
Have two or more motor tics (for example, blinking or shrugging the shoulders) and at least one vocal tic (for example, humming, clearing the throat, or yelling out a word or phrase), although they might not always happen at the same time.
- Have had tics for at least a year. The tics can occur many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly every day, or off and on.
- Have tics that begin before age 18 years.
- Have symptoms that are not due to taking medicine or other drugs or due to having another medical condition (for example, seizures, Huntington disease, or postviral encephalitis).
Persistent (chronic) motor or vocal tic disorder
To be diagnosed with a persistent tic disorder, a person must
- Have one or more motor tics (for example, blinking or shrugging the shoulders) or vocal tics (for example, humming, clearing the throat, or yelling out a word or phrase), but not both.
- Have tics that occur many times a day nearly every day or on and off throughout a period of more than a year.
- Have tics that start before age 18 years.
- Have symptoms that are not due to taking medicine or other drugs, or due to having a medical condition that can cause tics (for example, seizures, Huntington disease, or postviral encephalitis).
- Not have been diagnosed with TS.
Provisional tic disorder
To be diagnosed with a provisional tic disorder, a person must
- Have one or more motor tics (for example, blinking or shrugging the shoulders) or vocal tics (for example, humming, clearing the throat, or yelling out a word or phrase).
- Have been present for no longer than 12 months in a row.
- Have tics that start before age 18 years.
- Have symptoms that are not due to taking medicine or other drugs, or due to having a medical condition that can cause tics (for example, Huntington disease or post viral encephalitis).
- Not have been diagnosed with TS or persistent motor or vocal tic disorder.
Tics after a strep infection‎
In some children, tics may suddenly appear, or suddenly become worse, following a streptococcal (strep) infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever.