Brief Report

Sign language tics in a prelingually deaf man

  1. Huw R. Morris MRCP1,
  2. Alice J. Thacker PhD2,
  3. Peter K. Newman FRCP3,
  4. Andrew J. Lees MD1,*

Article first published online: 31 JAN 2001

DOI: 10.1002/1531-8257(200003)15:2<318::AID-MDS1018>3.0.CO;2-H

Issue

Movement Disorders

Movement Disorders

Volume 15, Issue 2, pages 318–320, March 2000

Additional Information

How to Cite

Morris, H. R., Thacker, A. J., Newman, P. K. and Lees, A. J. (2000), Sign language tics in a prelingually deaf man. Mov. Disord., 15: 318–320. doi: 10.1002/1531-8257(200003)15:2<318::AID-MDS1018>3.0.CO;2-H

Author Information

  1. 1

    National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, U.K.

  2. 2

    St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, U.K.

  3. 3

    Middlesbrough General Hospital, Middlesbrough, Cleveland,U.K.

*National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, U.K.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 31 JAN 2001
  2. Article first published online: 31 JAN 2001
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 8 JAN 2000
  4. Manuscript Revised: 5 JAN 2000
  5. Manuscript Received: 16 SEP 1999

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Keywords:

  • Tic;
  • Coprolalia;
  • Sign language;
  • Tourette's syndrome

Abstract

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is characterized by vocal and motor tics starting in childhood. Vocal tics may be either noises or words, and the vocal language tics may consist of obscenities (coprolalia) and repetitions of speech that has been heard (echolalia). We describe a prelingually deaf man who has the full array of tics seen in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, but in whom vocal language tics are replaced by equivalent sign language tics. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of sign language tics in a person with prelingual deafness. The implications of this phenomenon for the separation between language and ideas in tics and the equivalence of sign language to spoken language is discussed.

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