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Question 25: My 4 year old son....currently
has a diagnosis of impulsive-type ADHD, OCD issues, and multiple verbal
tics. My question is whether through your research you have found
any information on developmental language disorders associated with
TS as he also has this diagnosis.... My favorite of my son's vocal
tics is, "Good steak," which I think came from, "For
goodness sake," but his language problems got in the way! J.M.,
Nevada, USA.
Hello
J.M.:
Unfortunately there is not a lot of research to be found (in either
medical or psychological archives) on the connections between TS and
communication disorders (which, in the DSM-IV -- the most recent edition
of the standard diagnostic manual used by doctors -- include stuttering,
expressive language disorder, mixed receptive/expressive language disorder,
phonological disorder, and communication disorder not otherwise specified).
There is relatively more to be found on the associations between learning
disorders (LD's: written, reading, mathematics) -- and TS: 22% of TS'ers
have one (most often a disorder of written expression or a mathematics
disorder is diagnosed in this 22%).
There is, however, a link between expressive language disorders and
ADHD which you mentioned your son has -- you may have more luck searching
for literature discussing this connection. Even the link between TS
and LD's is believed to exist through ADHD (a very high percentage of
individuals with TS have ADHD). Language delay is associated with the
frontal (specifically premotor) areas of the brain -- frontal areas
seem to be more of a primary problem in ADHD than TS. While frontal
areas are also implicated in TS these problems may be secondary: connections
exist to the frontal lobes from various subcortical structures that
are not working as they do in 'normies' in individuals with TS.
I would suggest reading a book by Dr. David Comings (information found
at www.lifesatwitch.com/books.html) -- he discusses
links between TS, ADHD, LD's, expressive speech disorders and stuttering.
He also submitted a journal comment on the topic:
Coming, DE: Comings, BG (1994). TS, learning, and speech problems. Journal
of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 33(3),
429-430.
I hope this helps J.M. Please email me with the province/state you are
from for my records thanks!
cheers,
Dr. Dunc.
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