The cause of Tourette syndrome is still mysterious, but symptoms usually show up in pretty early childhood, which is why some designers were compelled to create a new computer program called TicHelper.
With Tourette’s, tics could include head jerking, eye blinking, throat clearing, repetitive patterns of movement or saying multiple words or phrases.
Douglas Woods, a psychologist at Texas A&M University, who is also co-chair of the Tourette Association of America Medical Advisory Board, is one of the people behind TicHelper. He told NPR that there aren’t many treatment options when these behaviors persist. One option is medication, and he said there are a few different antipsychotic drugs that are used to manage Tourette syndrome, but they have side effects and don’t always work. Instead of medication, behavioral therapy is an option.
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Comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics, or CBIT, is one form of treatment that can be effective and is the basis behind TicHelper.
“The idea is that when someone has a tic, they tend to have an urge,” clinical psychologist Eric Storch, a professor at the University of South Florida and Clinical Director of Pediatrics at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Tampa, told NPR. “It’s like when you’re about to yawn. You know just before it happens that a yawn’s coming. [CBIT] teaches a person to be aware.”
Apparently CBIT can be as effective as treatment via medication, it’s just hard to maintain without fully qualified therapists. For this reason, the idea for TicHelper came about.
Woods and his colleagues received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop the program, which is now being tested. At this point, Woods said kids are enjoying it and are able to do the skills.
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NPR spelled out what the program entails.
The program has four main sections: tic education, reducing tic triggers, tic awareness and tic blocking. Videos featuring a friendly actress guide patients thorough each section. The program personalizes treatment based on feedback from the patient. Woods says the testing will help the designers modify and improve it based on user feedback. Though TicHelper isn’t available yet, interested patients or doctors can sign up to receive updates on its progress. The website currently lists the cost of an 8-week program through TicHelper at $150, but Woods says that the price isn’t set.
Photo: Flickr user Molly