Clinical Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with a Primary Tic Disorder.

Carter et al. (2011) looked at 126 kids who came to a tic clinic. They wrote down how bad the tics were and what other diagnoses the kids already had. No treatment was given; it was a simple chart review.

Out of every five children, one also had social phobia or generalized anxiety. ADHD and OCD showed up a lot too. The paper gives the exact mix so you can see what else to expect when tics are the main reason for referral.

Kim et al. (2023) extends this picture to autism. They found tics in about one in five autistic youth, and worse tics linked to higher IQ. Canitano et al. (2007) saw the same 22% tic rate in ASD, but said severity rose as IQ dropped. The two ASD studies seem to clash, but they measured IQ with different tests and cut-offs, so both can be true.

Hagopian et al. (2005) and Rosa et al. (2016) used the same comorbidity-count method in kids with intellectual disability or ASD. They also showed ADHD piles on top of the main diagnosis, backing the idea that you should always screen for extra conditions no matter which label brought the child in.

If a client walks in for tics, don’t stop at ADHD or OCD. Run a quick anxiety screener too—20% will thank you. The same habit helps when you serve autistic youth; the tic question is now on your radar. One extra form today can prevent surprise referrals tomorrow.