Case Study of a Young Man with Tourette Syndrome

“Simon” is a seventeen-year-old Caucasian boy currently managing a mild case of Tourette syndrome. He attends mainstream high school and is a moderately successful student with a normal amount of friends. He enjoys playing video and computer games instead of doing his homework, although he does like his math and science classes. When he was 9, Simon’s family moved to another part of town where he had to switch schools. He began showing signs of Tourette syndrome at his new school. He displayed peculiar physical tics as well as repetitive throat clearings—despite the fact that he rarely had mucus or anything else bothering his throat. His physical tics consisted mainly of accentuated blinking (hemifacial spasms) and clenching/extending movements of the hands and sometimes feet (athetoid movements). The former occurs irregularly, repetitively, and unilaterally and affects the eye’s muscle groups. The latter occurs slowly and also irregularly and often has a writhing appearance. 

Simon has an aunt with controlled obsessive-compulsive disorder on his mother’s side and also a cousin with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Both disorders are closely related with Tourette syndrome and often can occur simultaneously. It is believed that Tourette syndrome can be inherited; the dominant gene(s) may cause different symptoms in different family members (Barbara A. Moe). This might explain the differences between Simon and the disorders of his aunt and cousin. Also, at the time of perceived on-set, Simon was battling a bad case of streptococcus infection (strep throat) which is often associated with the worsening of Tourette syndrome tics.