Analyzing the influence of tic-related talk on vocal and motor tics in children with Tourette's syndrome.

Woods, D. W., Watson, T. S., Wolfe, E., Twohig, M. P., & Friman, P. C. (2001). Analyzing the influence of tic-related talk on vocal and motor tics in children with Tourette's syndrome. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34, 353-356.

This study examined the effect of tic-related talk on the vocal and motor tics of 2 boys with Tourette's syndrome. Using ABAB withdrawal designs, the boys were alternately exposed to conditions with and without talk of their tics. For both boys, vocal tics markedly increased when talk pertained to tics and decreased when talk did not pertain to tics, but motor tic covariance was less consistent.

DESCRIPTORS: _habits, tics, Tourettte's syndrome, functional assessment