Understanding Tourette Syndrome

Understanding Tourette Syndrome provides accessible, concise, evidence-based guidelines on this neurodevelopmental disorder, offering parents and professionals a deeper scientific understanding of the condition and its consequences. Zanaboni Dina and Porta explore signs, symptoms and treatment of the disease, with the aim of demonstrating to all those involved in the life of a TS child solutions to manage a range of situations from diagnosis to day-to-day life. Therapies and social intervention, including Habit Reversal Training and Deep Brain Stimulation, are described, allowing caregivers to evaluate the best course of treatment. With a focus on improving quality of life by offering practical recommendations for managing the condition at school and in the family, it places additional emphasis on sibling relationships and the importance of childhood friendship. The authors’ expert subject knowledge and extensive experience of working with children and families, makes the topic accessible for any reader, and case studies demonstrate how to apply scientific understanding of the condition to a real-life situation. This unique guide is essential reading for parents and carers, as well as practitioners in Clinical and Educational Psychology, Counselling, Mental Health, Nursing, Child Welfare, Public Healthcare and those in Education. It will also be of interest to postgraduates studying courses in Psychology, Neurology and Psychiatry.

Discusses what tourette syndrome is, how it is treated, how to cope, and what the future will be with this condition.

Tourette's Syndrome is now recognized as a common, lifelong condition and a ``model'' disorder reflecting the interaction of genetic vulnerability and environmental factors. Along with progress in research on Tourette's and other tic disorders, new approaches to treating this neuropsychiatric disturbance are now attracting wide interest among mental health workers. This book provides the broadest, most up-to-date account of this group of disorders, their features, symptoms, etiology and diagnosis, and various psychosocial disorders with similar symptoms. It also presents a variety of environmental and pharmacological therapeutic approaches that underscore areas of disagreement in the field, as well as new genetic, neurochemical and pharmacologic knowledge. Contributors to this work are all leading researchers or clinicians.