Home Page Topic List

Tic List

The class of symptoms included in the Tic List table may not be exact. Some professionals admit to not being able to decide if certain movements are motor tics or compulsions.

A tic such as “Teeth Grinding” is a movement and is therefore classed as a motor tic but the movement may also make a sound. If no sound is made this tic is a motor tic. If a sound is made this tic could be classified as a phonic tic. “Finger Movement” tics, which can involve hundreds of distinctive movement patterns, are normally classed as motor tics. However, if the movement causes a sound, such as finger snapping, this could be classified as a phonic tic.

Many compulsions are carried out as a result of an obsession or have an obsessive component attached to them. The Tic List identifies these only as compulsions.

The obsessions and compulsions that are included the Tic List are simple. For a look at more complex obsessions and compulsions see Complex Obsessions and Compulsions List.

Symptoms

Class

Abdominal jerking, tensing	Motor
Adjusts clothing	Compulsion
Aggression
Amplitude of speech	Phonic
Animal sounds (cow, dog, etc)	Phonic
Ankle flexing	Motor
Apraxia	Phonic
Arm flailing, flapping, flexing, jerking	Motor
Arranging things in a specific order	Compulsion
Baby Talk	Phonic
Barely audible muttering	Phonic
Barking– some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic
Belching	Phonic
Bending to touch ground	Motor
Bites nails	Compulsion
Biting others	Motor
Biting self (lip, arm, etc)	Motor
Biting things	Motor
Body jerking	Motor
Body slamming	Motor
Burns self	Compulsion
Calling out saying “hey, hey”, “wow” etc	Phonic
Cannot get started – see perseveration	Obsession
Checking	Compulsion
Chewing on clothes	Motor
Chirping	Phonic
Chronic negativism	OCD
Collecting both useless and useful ojbects	Compulsion
Complex respiratory (breathing) patterns	Phonic
Contamination concerns	Compulsion
Contracting all muscles at the same time	Motor
Coprolalia – uttering socially unacceptable words or phrases	Phonic
Copropraxia – making obscene gestures	Motor
Correcting	Compulsion
Coughing	Phonic
Counting	Compulsion
Cracks knuckles	Compulsion
Cuts self	Compulsion
Dancing	Motor
Defensiveness	OCD
Dystonic postures	Motor
Eating – see food
Echolalia – repeating other’s words or statements	Phonic
Echopraxia	Motor
Evening up – arranging objects in specific orders – is not a tic. See compulsions	Compulsion
Exactness – arranging objects in a specific order	Compulsion
Exaggerated exhalations, catches in breathing	Phonic
Exaggerated inhalations, catches in breathing	Phonic
Eye blinking - rapid eye blinking - prolonged eye blinking - unusual eye blinking - eye rolling (upward or side to side) - eye squinting	Motor
Facial contortions	Motor
Facial grimacing	Motor
Finger movements	Motor
Food – needs food arranged on plate a certain way, needs to eat foods in a certain order	Compulsion
Food – won’t eat certain foods	Compulsion
Foot dragging, stamping, tapping, shaking, stomping, stepping backwards	Motor
Frowning	Motor
Germs, concerned about germs	Obsession
Getting stuck	OCD
Grunting– some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic
Gurgling	Phonic
Gyrating	Motor
Hair tossing	Motor
Hair twisting	Motor
Hand clapping	Motor
Hand washing	Compulsion
Head banging	Motor
Head bobbing	Motor
Head jerking	Motor
Head tossing	Motor
Hiccupping	Phonic
Hissing– some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic
Hitting - Some people with TS have urges to hit. This urge may be to hit them self, to hit others or to hit inanimate objects. - A tic directed at hitting oneself may involve any part of the body. Using a hand to hit the forehead, the backside or another body part could be considered a tic. - A tic directed at an object may involve hitting a table, a wall or any other object available at the time. - An urge to hit another person is usually held back. This urge is often redirected by hitting another object, by passing by the person with the hit or by stopping just short of hitting the person.	Motor
Hitting objects – see hitting	Motor
Hitting others – see hitting	Motor
Hitting self – see hitting	Motor
Hoarding	Compulsion
Honking – some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make	Phonic
Hopping	Motor
Humming	Phonic
Injures self	Compulsion
Jaw, abnormal movements, snapping	Motor
Jumping	Motor
Kicking	Motor
Kissing	Motor
Knee bending, knocking	Motor
Knuckle cracking	Motor
Laughing	Phonic
Leg jerking, kicking	Motor
Licking – self, others, objects	Compulsion
Looping	OCD
Making “tsk” and “pft” noises	Phonic
Making funny facial expressions	Motor
Making guttural sounds	Phonic
Making unintelligible noises	Phonic
Moaning– some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make	Phonic
Mouth twitch	Motor
Muscle tensing	Motor
Nail biting	Compulsion
Negativism	OCD
Noisy breathing	Phonic
Nose twitching	Motor
Ordering – arranging objects in a specific order	Compulsion
Pallilalia – repeating one’s own words	Phonic
Patterns – doing things in patterns	Compulsion
Perfectionism	Compulsion
Perseveration	OCD
Picking at lint	Compulsion
Picking at sores	Compulsion
Pinching	Motor
Pouting	Motor
Pulling at clothes	Compulsion
Rage
Rapid jerking of any part of the body	Motor
Reads signs, license plates, credits in movies	Compulsion
Reassurance Seeking	OCD
Repeating rituals	Compulsion
Repeats actions or movements of others	Compulsion
Repeats parts of words	Phonic
Repeats phrases	Phonic
Repeats words	Phonic
Ritualistic behaviours	OCD
Rituals	OCD
Saving seemingly useless objects	Compulsion
Scratching	Motor
Screaming– some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic
Screeching	Phonic
Seeking assurance	OCD
Self injuries	Compulsion
Shivering	Motor
Shoulder shrugging	Motor
Shouting – some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make	Phonic
Skipping	Motor
Smacking– some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic
Smelling fingers or hands, food, other people	Compulsion
Sniffing	Phonic
Snorting	Phonic
Somersaulting	Motor
Speech atypicalities such as speaking in unusual rhythms, tones, accents etc.	Phonic
Spitting	Motor
Squatting	Motor
Squeaking – some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic
Squealing – some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic
Standing on the toes of one foot and twirling the body	Motor
Stooping	Motor
Straightens things – arranging objects in a specific order	Compulsion
Stuttering	Phonic
Sucking	Motor
Superstitions – avoids things with number 13	Compulsion
Symmetry – arranging objects in a specific order	Compulsion
Table banging	Motor
Talking to oneself	Phonic
Taps objects, self	Compulsion
Tearing books	Motor
Tearing paper or books	Motor
Teeth clicking, grinding	Phonic
Tensing parts of the body	Motor
Toe Walking	Motor
Thoughts of violence	Obsession
Throat clearing - unnecessary throat clearing - exaggerated throat clearing	Phonic
Throwing things	Motor
Tongue clicking or clacking	Phonic
Tongue thrusting	Motor
Touching	Compulsion
Touching objects (or self)	Compulsion
Twirling	Motor
Twirling in circles	Motor
Uttering out of context phrases or words – see Coprolalia	Phonic
Walking in a pattern	Compulsion
Walking on toes	Motor
Washing hands	Compulsion
Whistling	Phonic
Worry – minor errors,	Obsession
Writhing movements	Motor
Yelling	Phonic
Yelping – some vocal tics are sounds that a person would not normally make.	Phonic

Home Page Topic List