Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT)

Medication until recently has been the only treatment for Tourettes and tics.  However, when medication does work, it often has side effects.  Recent advances in behavior therapy and in a more comprehensive approach offer an adjunct to medication and even sometimes another choice.

When do tics emerge?

Tourette Syndrome is a chronic, neurobiological disorder with childhood onset and characterized by motor and vocal tics. TS often appears between the ages of 5 and 7 years.  It typically begins with eye blinking or facial movements. Motor tics usually come before vocal tics, and simple tics often come before complex tics.