The severity of tics early in life does not predict their severity in later life. There is no reliable means of predicting the course of symptoms for a particular individual, but the prognosis is generally favorable. By the age of fourteen to sixteen, when the highest tic severity has typically passed, a more reliable prognosis might be made.Tics may be at their highest severity when they are diagnosed, and often improve as an individuals family and friends come to better understand the condition. Studies report that almost eight out of ten children with Tourettes experience a reduction in the severity of their tics by adulthood, and some adults who still have tics may not be aware that they have them. A study that used video to record tics in adults found that nine out of ten adults still had tics, and half of the adults who considered themselves tic-free displayed evidence of mild tics. Quality of life
People with Tourettes are affected by the consequences of tics and by the efforts to suppress them. Head and eye tics can interfere with reading or lead to headaches, and forceful tics can lead to repetitive strain injury. Severe tics can lead to pain or injuries; as an example, a rare cervical disc herniation was reported from a neck tic. Some people may learn to camouflage socially inappropriate tics or channel the energy of their tics into a functional endeavor.A supportive family and environment generally give those with Tourettes the skills to manage the disorder.
The eponym was bestowed by Charcot after and on behalf of Gilles de la Tourette, who later became Charcots senior resident.Following the 19th-century descriptions, a psychogenic view prevailed and little progress was made in explaining or treating tics until well into the 20th century. The possibility that movement disorders, including Tourette syndrome, might have an organic origin was raised when an encephalitis lethargica epidemic from 1918 to 1926 was linked to an increase in tic disorders.During the 1960s and 1970s, as the beneficial effects of haloperidol on tics became known, the psychoanalytic approach to Tourette syndrome was questioned. The turning point came in 1965, when Arthur K. Shapiro—described as "the father of modern tic disorder research"—used haloperidol to treat a person with Tourettes, and published a paper criticizing the psychoanalytic approach. In 1975, The New York Times headlined an article with "Bizarre outbursts of Tourettes disease victims linked to chemical disorder in brain", and Shapiro said: "The bizarre symptoms of this illness are rivaled only by the bizarre treatments used to treat it. "During the 1990s, a more neutral view of Tourettes emerged, in which a genetic predisposition is seen to interact with non-genetic and environmental factors.