Comprehensive behavioral intervention to improve occupational performance in children with Tourette disorder

OBJECTIVE. We evaluated the efficacy of a comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics (CBIT) program to reduce tic severity and improve occupational performance in children with tic disorder using a one-group pretest-posttest design. METHOD. Thirty children with tic disorder completed an eight-session CBIT program. The program focused on habit reversal, relaxation training, and function-based approaches to address how the environment and social situations (antecedents and consequences) sustain or influence tic severity. RESULTS. We observed significant reduction in the number of tics and improvement in scores on the Parent Tic Questionnaire, Subjective Units of Distress Scale, and Child Occupational Self Assessment after CBIT compared with scores at baseline. CONCLUSION. Findings provided support that CBIT reduced the number of tic expressions, tic severity, and level of distress associated with tic and improved these children's self-perception of their competence in and importance of performing everyday activities (i.e., occupational performance).