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. 2021 Mar 10;8(3):412-419.
doi: 10.1002/mdc3.13177. eCollection 2021 Apr.

Driving with Tic Disorders: An International Survey of Lived Experiences

Lorena Fernández de la Cruz  1 , Helene Ringberg  2 , Seonaid Anderson  3 , Jeremy S Stern  4   5 , David Mataix-Cols  1
Affiliations

Driving with Tic Disorders: An International Survey of Lived Experiences

Lorena Fernández de la Cruz et al. Mov Disord Clin Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the lived experiences of individuals with tic disorders when driving vehicles or trying to obtain a driving license.

Objective: To survey the driving-related experiences of adults with tic disorders.

Methods: A global survey was disseminated via social media, international patient organizations, and experts between April 27, 2020 and July 20, 2020.

Results: Participants were 228 adult individuals self-reporting a confirmed diagnosis of Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder. Of these, 183 (87.7%) had a driver's license. A minority (9%) reported that they had found it hard to pass the driving test. Tics only interfered with driving "a bit" (58.5%) or "not at all" (33%). A majority of participants reported being able to suppress their tics (39.5%) or that their tics are unchanged (28.5%) while driving. Nearly half of the participants (46.5%) had been involved in accidents, but only a negligible percentage (3.2%) considered that these were linked to the tics. Participants without a driver's license (n = 28, 12.3%) reported significantly more severe tics, compared to those with a license. The majority of these (60.7%) identified their tics as the main reason for not having a license and 64.3% said that they would like to receive support to obtain one.

Conclusions: The majority of surveyed participants with chronic tic disorders reported minimal difficulties with driving. However, a non-negligible minority of more severe cases struggle with driving or refrain from driving altogether and would benefit from additional support. The results have implications for clinicians and vehicle licensing agencies.

Keywords: Tourette syndrome; chronic tic disorder; driving; licensing agencies; motor vehicles; tic disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

No specific funding was available for this project. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Flow of survey participants. CTD, chronic tic disorder; TS, Tourette syndrome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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