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Question 52: My son was recently dx with mild ts. He's had motor tics for 2 years and just began having vocal tics. Here's my question: is the ts dx accurate if he has only had vocal tics for 3 months? Thanks for responding! J.

Good evening J!

Technically no -- by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th edition (DSM-IV) which doctors (both Psychologists and M.D's) use to make diagnoses, both multiple motor and one or more phonic ("noisy") tics need to occur for at least a year for a proper diagnosis to be made.

Based purely on your email description it sounds as though your son may qualify for a "Transient Tic Disorder" diagnosis -- perhaps your doctor, based on other and more information than I have, suspects that the TS diagnosis is inevitable and so is giving that diagnosis now rather than having you come back in again in 9 months...........

I hope this helps -- have an excellent night J.
Dr. Dunc.

 

p.s. I really would appreciate it if you would grant me the request I make on my Ask Dr. Dunc! page -- namely to tell me the province/state/country from which you hail. Thank you.

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