The treatment of Tourette's syndrome: multimodal, developmental intervention

Abstract

The increasing clinical recognition of milder phenotypic variants of Tourette's syndrome and the keener appreciation of its phenomenological continuity with other transient and chronic tic syndromes have required a greater comprehensiveness and sophistication in the assessment and management of the disorder. Treatment must be individualized based on considerations of the source and degree of functional impairment associated with tics, the current and future impairment associated with comorbid illnesses, the available internal and external sources of support and capacities for coping, and the challenges that the tics and comorbidities present at varying stages of development. Specific therapeutic interventions must target not only tic symptoms, but also comorbid illnesses and coping strategies that can profoundly influence the unique impact that tic symptoms may have on an individual's well being during childhood and adolescence, and later into adulthood.