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Dr. Lazarus On Tourette Tics:
“There is something about treating patients with Tourette Syndrome which is particularly rewarding for me. Tics are socially embarrassing, humiliating, and unacceptable. Often these children feel frustrated, angry, sad, and hopeless.
These patients are the unsung heroes. I think it’s difficult and challenging enough for most of us to simply get through our days. But not only do these patients have to get through the day, they also have to do it with the added burden of uncontrollable tics.
Helping them is the most rewarding thing I do because patients feel relief from the pain of humiliation, are accepted by others, and are often able to decrease and even discontinue their medication(s). This is extremely empowering for children and adolescents and boosts their self-confidence and self-esteem.”
Tourette Syndrome
Successful Treatment For Tourette Syndrome Without Medication
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a complex neurobehavioral disorder characterized by multiple motor tics, as well as vocalizations, which wax and wane. The motor tics involve specific muscle groups and can change from one part of the body to another. The vocalizations, or phonic tics, may involve grunting, sniffing, coughing, snorting, throat-clearing or other sounds.
The tics occur many times a day, nearly every day, or intermittently for more than a year. A lot of people believe that these tics and vocalizations are involuntary. However, many patients are able to suppress their tics, especially when they are concentrating intently on something.
More Common Than You Think
Studies indicate that more than 19 percent of children in regular education classes have tics and more than 23 percent of children in special education classes have tics. More than 7 percent of children in special education classes have Tourette Syndrome.
Treating Tourette Syndrome & Its Tics
Commonly, Tourette Syndrome and its accompanying tics are treated with medications such as neuroleptics (tranquilizers), antidepressants, and stimulants. The side effects of many of these medications can be significant and potentially life-threatening and often the patients discontinue them on their own.
Self-hypnosis (SH) has been used successfully to treat patients with TS. It can be used either as a primary treatment, without the use of medication, or as an adjunctive therapy in addition to medication. When used as an adjunct, medication can often be decreased or even discontinued.
Note: Although clinical hypnosis can be effective in the treatment of tics, it is not designed to treat other conditions that can be associated with TS, such as: Obsessive-compulsive behavior, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, immaturity, emotional lability, self-injurious behavior, and personality disorders.
Dr. Jeffrey Lazarus' article, "Nonpharmacological Treatment of Tics in Tourette Syndrome Adding Videotape Training to Self-Hypnosis," co-authored with Susan K. Klein, MD, PhD, has been published in the July/August 2010 edition of the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatric
Read the article
(PDF)Treatment
Usually, Dr. Lazarus first meets alone with the parents. Then, he sends an introductory letter to the patient ; the letter sets the tone and expectation for a positive outcome with the patient.
At the first visit, Dr. Lazarus gets to know the child, emphasizes that he will help the patient help him/herself, and assigns homework. The homework is designed for the patient to think about the tic in a different way.
At subsequent visits, the child watches a video of a boy who overcomes his cough tic through self-hypnosis; he is clearly empowered and happy during and after the treatment. The video offers the reassurance of knowing that other kids have this problem, too, and gives patients the hope and the motivation that if this child could take control over his body and life challenge, then they can, too.
Results: 79% percent of the patients trained in this technique experienced short-term clinical response, defined as control over the average 6-week follow-up period. Of the responders, 46% achieved tic control with SH after only 2 sessions and 96% after 3 visits. One patient required 4 visits.
Habits
Habits and tics are very similar in many ways, and Dr. Lazarus treats them both in the same fashion. Habits include thumb-sucking, nail-biting, skin-picking, etc. Trichotillomania (TTM) is also a habit disorder. However, oftent patients with TTM have overwhelming generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and/or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). If the GAD and/or OCD is worse than the TTM, then the patient is not yet ready to meet with Dr. Lazarus and those issues must be addressed first. Sometimes, by gaining control over the GAD or OCD, the TTM may go away. In general, the longer patients have had TTM, the more difficult it is to treat. Dr. Lazarus has not found this to be the case regaring tics, with or without Tourette Syndrome.
Nicholas' Story
“We flew to Cleveland because Nicholas had reached the end of his rope. Our pediatrician had treated him with allergy medicines and a nebulizer before diagnosing him with Tourette Syndrome. Then, a neurologist at a renowned hospital recommended that he take an anti-psychotic medication for his tics.
“His father and I decided this was not a road we wanted to travel, and we began to look for alternative methods of treatment. Fortunately, our research led us to Dr. Lazarus. We flew to Cleveland in search of an answer.
Our son's first appointment went well and he was excited to return a month later. At his second appointment, he learned techniques to help himself to get better. He practiced his techniques daily. As his tics faded away, his self-confidence grew, his self-esteem improved, his performance at school improved, and his spirit returned.
Dr. Lazarus empowered our son with a tremendous gift that he will carry with him everywhere. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for the time and confidence he has given to our son.”
- mother of 12-year-old Nicholas
Caroline's Story
When a neurologist diagnosed Caroline with Tourette Syndrome, I went home and I started reading books and freaked out. As a parent, you think the worst. There was not a whole lot out there to help us figure out what to do about this, and I wasn't big on medication. When my daughter was ready and said, ‘The kids are making fun of me. I want this to stop,' we called Dr. Lazarus. In two or three sessions, she was tic free until we told her we were going to have another baby, and then she started all over again. But that's a different story. We had a couple of tics then, too!
My point is that Caroline's life has been enhanced by this. And it's a non-medication way to treat your child. The upside is vast and the downside is, I think, nonexistent.
- Mother of 6 1/2-year-old Caroline
Steven's Story
“My son is a really smart student and very sensitive, and the pain that we had to see him go through was terrible. What Dr. Lazarus did with him was just amazing, and my wife and I are both very thankful. We feel like we're friends forever. We are just very happy.”
- Father of 10-year-old Steven
Brooke's Story
“When we first discovered Brooke's tic, she would describe it as a flinch. In the beginning it was very strong, almost seizure-like. But we didn't want to jump to put our child on medication. Our pediatrician had heard Dr. Lazarus speak, and we thought it was certainly worth the trip, so we went to see him. Brooke loved him immediately and responded to him really well.
“It definitely has to be something the child wants to do. She picked one tic that bothered her the most and discussed it with him. They dealt with it. Most of her other tics have subsided. Instead of seeing a tic ten times a day, I see it once maybe every two weeks. It has really subsided, and she knows how to control it, and it's a great feeling.”
- Mother of 6-year-old Brooke
Bob’s Story
Our 9-year-old son Bob has had the pleasure of being treated by Dr. Lazarus over the past few months. We have been absolutely thrilled with the results and we hope that other people who are dealing with some of the same issues will too be inspired to see Dr. Lazarus and get the help they need.
Bob has Tourette Syndrome and has had numerous tics since he was 6 years old. Over the past year, we modified his diet and used supplements to help to control his tics. He also started getting migraines about a year ago, however, since we have taken sugar, dairy and MSG out of his diet he does not get them as often as he used to.
Bob is a very energetic, outgoing child who loves people. Fortunately for Bob, he has done quite well socially with his tics as he has a strong personality and lots of supportive friends. However, a few months ago he started making some vocal tics such as yelling and some weird noises. We have always been very supportive of his tics not making a big deal out of them but we were worried about how disruptive these tics would be at school and around his friends. Our number one priority with Bob has always been his self-esteem and we were fearful of what was in store for him in the future.
I had read about Dr. Lazarus in the Latitudes Online magazine and decided to call him to see if he could help us. We had 3 visits with Dr. Lazarus and were very happy with the results. We live in Canada so it was definitely a huge commitment to go and see Dr. Lazarus, but after speaking with him on the phone we felt it was worth a try.
At our first visit Dr. Lazarus made it very clear that it does not matter how much the tics bother us, Bob has to be motivated to want to change the behavior. Bob really enjoyed his time with Dr. Lazarus and thought that the techniques that he showed him were really cool.
It was after his second visit that we really noticed a difference in Bob. In fact, when I spoke with Bob on the phone at the airport while he and his dad were waiting for their flight home, Bob told me that he now knows how to control his tics! Over the next few days we noticed significant improvement in his vocal tics and what Bob calls his “shaking tic”. Dr. Lazarus had Bob focused on the tic that bothered Bob the most which was his “shaking tic”. Bob also told me that it was really cool that when he felt the urge to do his “shaking tic” he would visualize a stop sign and then he would not need to do his tic afterwards. Bob felt very excited and empowered that he was able to control his tics.
Bob no longer does his shaking tic or any other vocal tics. He still does some eye blinking and sniffing tics and what we learned after his third visit was that those tics are not bothering him so he chooses not to work on fixing them. Bob has the technique and tools that he needs to be able to control his tics if he feels necessary. Although he still is doing some of his tics, it is amazing to see how much better they are as a whole and how he no longer does the tics that were definitely the most distracting!
As an added bonus, on our last visit Dr. Lazarus was able to help Bob with similar techniques for his migraines. A few days after our last visit, Bob came to me in the morning and told me he had just had a migraine without the headache!! He said that he lay in bed and worked on his visualization techniques and after a few minutes his headache was gone. That really is amazing since Bob’s migraines would usually consist of about one and a half hours of his screaming in agony followed by vomiting for at least another hour. In fact just two days ago, he experienced what he called another migraine when he woke up, and he was again able to control it through his visualization!!!!!
We are thrilled with our results from Dr. Lazarus and we highly recommend him to anyone in need. In fact, I would be happy to talk to anyone who may have any questions or concerns as we feel that it is so worth it.
Tics and Habits (without Tourette Syndrome)
Many children experience tics that last for a few weeks or a few months and often go away on their own. These patients do not have Tourette Syndrome, which is characterized by multiple motor tics and vocalizations that last more than one year. Learn more about this condition and treatment using medical hypnosis
To Learn More
Read the JDBP Abstract (PDF): Nonpharmacological Treatment of Tics in Tourette Syndrome Adding
Read Los Angeles Times Article (PDF)
Watch Channel 5 KPIX/CBS news story
View Tourette Syndrome Case Study: how one child was able to control his cough tic
Read Los Angeles Times article (PDF) on Dr. Lazarus’ article
To contact Dr. Lazarus, you may phone him at: 650-322-5333. Or, email him a brief form.
