Coping with Tics in School and with Peers

Abstract

Tics often draw negative attention and may interfere with social and academic performance. When enduring a year or longer (“persistent”), tic disorders are usually associated with one or more nontic coexisting conditions that can exacerbate tic severity and pose their own social and academic interferences. This review examines the range of these vulnerabilities and explores strategies and interventions to help affected children and youth cope with tics in school and with peers. Stigma and bullying are frequent outcomes, which contribute to coping challenges that emerge from the interferences of tics and coexisting conditions. Increasingly, research and treatment of tic disorders in children and youth emphasize a holistic, collaborative approach among child and family, educators, peers, and clinicians. Interventions that target psychosocial and functional impacts of tics and coexisting conditions at school and with peers can have wide-reaching effects in improving effective coping. Management emphasizes psychoeducation and resilience building alongside tic-reduction therapies. Methods to improve access to educational and therapeutic resources, including virtual access, are being explored.