Tics
Tics are common disorders (about 10% of all children at some time) involving repetitive twitching of a muscle group (the word ‘tic’ is French for twitch). Most commonly it affects the eyelids, with exaggerated blinking, or clearing the throat. They disappear over time. Rarely, there may be both motor and vocal tics, with twitching, shouting and yelping - often of obscenities in the older child (called coprolalia). This is Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (Mozart is thought possibly to have been a sufferer) and requires supervision and treatment. The cause is unknown, but there may be a family history of Tic disorder.
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