That’s because true Tourette syndrome tics are unique to each person, not so overwhelmingly alike. The similarities in tics - especially given patients’ geographic distance - gave doctors their first clue that social media was at the root of the phenomenon. Hitting or banging body parts, other people or objects.Hand/arm movements, including clapping and pointing.Repetition of swear words and other obscene phrases.Repetition of seemingly random words or phrases, including “beans,” “woo-hoo” and “flying shark.”.Globally, doctors were seeing that teens with sudden-onset tics shouted the exact same phrases and experienced the same uncontrolled movements: An August 2021 study shows that they now account for up to 35% of cases. One study found that these sudden-onset tics were “overall severe and frequent,” occurring about 29 times per minute.īefore the pandemic, the sudden onset of unexplained tics accounted for only about 1% of total tic disorder cases. Many teens report having been removed from classes at school for being disruptive, due to their inability to control their tics. In just a few hours, maybe a day or two, girls who have no history of tics suddenly start to experience a lot of movement and vocalization.” Aldosari says, “but it turns out that we’re all seeing it - a different age of onset, and disturbingly, an explosive onset. “Initially, everyone thought they were seeing an isolated phenomenon,” Dr. They’d shout the same phrases over and ever, seemingly at random, and display jerking or flapping movements.Īs doctors across geographic regions began to communicate with one another, they realized they were all seeing the same thing - around the world. Throughout the pandemic, doctors began seeing more and more teenage girls who were experiencing a sudden appearance of verbal and motor tics. A rise in teen girls with Tourette’s-like tics So why the sudden rise in teen girls experiencing Tourette’s-like symptoms? Pediatric neurologist Mohammed Aldosari, MD, talks about this disconcerting data, including the role of the social media platform TikTok and what parents can do. But Tourette’s, which is relatively uncommon, is four times more likely in boys than in girls and typically presents between ages 5 and 7. The tics mimic those seen in Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes uncontainable movements and vocal sounds. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center.
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