The Tourette's sufferer's ability to repress or minimize tics and vocalizations for short periods may further deceive people that their actions are deliberate. However, people with Tourette's syndrome really can't help it. They have a neurological disorder that causes involuntary muscle movements and vocal sounds. An estimated 100,000 Americans have severe Tourette's syndrome and 1 in 200 may partially express the disorder, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The disorder is found in every ethnic group and occurs three to four times more often in males than females.
Research suggests it results from a genetically based imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain.
Deep concentration on a task and conscious attempts at suppression can reduce symptoms for a time. However, suppressing tics has a price. Tics and vocalizations also change over time, increasing and decreasing in type or frequency. Some disappear and others take their place. Symptoms of Tourette's syndrome begin in childhood and there is no definitive test for the disorder.