A Qualitative Exploration of the Experiences of Children and Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome.

Overview

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of youth with Tourette Syndrome (TS). METHOD: Thirteen participants with TS were recruited from a large tertiary care hospital to complete semi-structured interviews and two questionnaires pertaining to demographic information and tic severity. Thematic analysis was utilized to systematically analyze the data. RESULTS: Three main themes were identified: 1) beliefs about TS; 2) TS related distress and impairment; and, 3) coping with TS. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study suggest that most participants were aware of their tics but unaware of the cause of tics/TS. The interviews also highlighted that, for most participants, TS caused emotional, social, physical, and/or occupational impairment. Despite their distress, participants provided several suggestions for coping with TS and for supporting those who are diagnosed with this condition.

Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal de l'Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent Journal