The tics can be suppressed voluntarily for minutes to hours. The tics are present almost every day for at least one year. Just because the tics can be suppressed for awhile does not mean the tics are voluntary or put on. Suppression requires a conscious effort which eventually fails and the tics may be worse after a period of suppression. Not uncommonly a person can suppress the tics during school time, or at the doctors office, then release them at home or in the car.
Coprolalia is the involuntary, repeated expression of swear words.
This is distinct from simple swearing in that the same words tend to be said over and over in a compulsive, repetitious fashion, not spoken in anger. TS was once thought to be a rare disease. It is less common in girls. Subsequent studies in New York and England suggest an ever higher incidence. This makes it one of the commonest genetic disease affecting children.