Treatment of Tourette syndrome
There is no cure for Tourette's and no medication which works universally for all individuals without significant adverse effects; knowledge and understanding are the best treatments available for tics. Management of the symptoms of Tourette's may include pharmacological, behavioral and psychological therapies. While pharmacological treatment is reserved for more severe symptoms, other types of treatments may help avoid or improve symptoms of depression or social isolation, and improve supportive family functioning. Educating the patient, family, and surrounding community (school, church, friends, etc.) is a key part of treatment.
Tourette Association of America
The TAA "has been the major driving force in scientific and clinical progress relevant to TS", using its resources to encourage research and scientific initiatives, and working tirelessly to promote information about TS. It has worked for recognition of Tourette syndrome as an organic disorder, lobbying the public, the government, and physicians. It is adept at winning grants and shaping media treatment of the condition. Since its inception, research spurred by the TAA has grown in volume and sophistication, including controlled treatment studies and studies of pathophysiology and etiology. Many new research findings are the direct result of the TSA's "active facilitation of large collaborative research consortia in genetics, neuro-imaging, clinical trials, and the behavioral sciences", and their "concerted effort to identify current research advances, disseminate them among the scientific and clinical communities, and establish networks of basic and clinical scientists from all over the world".