IntroductionIn 1885, the French neurologist Georges Gilles de la Tourette, published a two-part article in which he described a disorder that was later called Tourette Syndrome (TS). Until this time, doctors believed that symptoms that presented as tics or twitching were symptoms of a type of chorea or a type of hysteria (Kolb & Whishaw, 1996). Tourette syndrome is described in the DSM-IV-TR as a patient who presents with both a motor tic and a vocal tic over a period of one year, in which no symptom-free period lasts more than three consecutive months. Symptoms presented as motor tics only or vocal tics only are classified as other tic disorders (Phelps, 2008). Research Three in 1,000 children are diagnosed with Tourette syndrome each year in the United States, and it affects males three times more often than females at a 3:1 ratio (CDC, 2007). The age of onset of Tourette syndrome varies between 2 and 15 years, with 97% of cases showing symptoms by age 11 (Kolb & Whishaw, 1996) and 27% of children diagnosed with TS reporting their symptoms as moderate or severe (CDC, 2007). Although TS is found in all racial groups, it is twice as likely to occur in non-Hispanic White racial groups than in Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black racial groups (CDC, 2007). Among individuals with Tourette's, 30% to 40% have at least one family member with Tourette's or another tic disorder (Kolb & Whishaw, 1996). This provides evidence for the theory that Tourette syndrome is hereditary. Gilles de la Tourette proposed that there were three stages of Tourette syndrome. The first stage is when symptoms begin with the formation of tics in the facial area, such as excessive blinking. The second step is "inarticulate scream... middle of paper... which I liked because none of my other resources went into detail about genetics. The textbook for this course was also very helpful even though the information about Tourette's syndrome was on just two pages. It provided a lot of information in one condensed package; this made it easier for researchers to find information in this area looking at new methods of treatment, whether it's therapy-based treatment or even neurosurgery I think as research into these questions produces more results, hopefully we'll start to get some answers Tourette's disease has an unpredictable course as tics change throughout an individual's life and the type, frequency and severity of tics associated with Tourette's syndrome vary from individual to individual (Prestia, 2003).