Tics

Tics are involuntary, sudden, and nonrhythmic physical movements or vocalizations that involve discrete muscle groups. Common motor tics include eye blinking, grimacing, and mouth movements while some common vocal tics are throat clearing, coughing, and grunting. While most tics are visible to an onlooker some are more subtle like toe crunching or abdominal tensing. To diagnose tics, the symptoms must be distinguished from movement disorders that may be symptomatic of other movement disorders such as autism, OCD, or seizures.