A picture is worth 1000 words: a new tool for Tourette studies

What is it about?

We created a multimedia tool to demonstrate tics to a lay audience: VISIT-TS (Video-Integrated Screening Instrument for Tics and Tourette Syndrome) version 2. This approach is based on the premise that survey respondents will respond more accurately about tics in themselves (or their children) after the interviewer shows them a brief video about tics than they would if only asked about history by questionnaire or observed briefly by a rater.

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Why is it important?

Because tics can come and go, can be suppressed, and often resemble intentional movement or vocalizations, recognition of tic disorders can be challenging. In the body of this report, we review evidence that previous approaches to epidemiological studies of Tourette syndrome have shown how difficult it is for lay people to interpret correctly the questions they may be asked about tics. The original motivation for this video-enhanced interview, "VISIT-TS," was epidemiology, but we hope it may find other uses as well.