Tic notes: log tics and see how they change

How to use it

1. Choose Add a check-in. The day starts as today. Choose how your tics were, how much they got in the way, and how you slept, or answer only the ones you want. To change an earlier day, pick its date.
2. If you want more detail, open Tic entries and choose Add a tic entry. An entry is one note about a tic, or about a run of tics. You do not need to write down every tic. Every box except the date is optional. You can use the daily check-in on its own.
3. Open Summary to see what you wrote added up: your check-ins and entries week by week (weeks start on Monday), counts of the choices you ticked, and an optional line chart of your check-ins.
4. Under Print and share, choose a range of dates if you like, then print, copy as text, or download files for a spreadsheet. Switch on Hide what I wrote on screen at any time to show the word Hidden in place of the words you typed.

Good to know

• This notebook is not medical advice and it does not diagnose anything. It works best alongside a clinician who knows you. It never scores you and never says whether a week was good or bad. If your tics hurt you, cause an injury, or worry you, talk with a doctor or other clinician. If you feel unsafe, or you might hurt yourself or someone else, go to Crisis help now.
• Tics are not your fault, and they are not a habit or bad behavior. Writing about them is optional and it is your choice. Some people find that writing tics down keeps their attention on tics. If keeping this notebook starts to feel like something you must do, or it makes things harder, take a break from it and tell your clinician or someone you trust. The daily check-in on its own is a lighter way to keep a record.
• Tics can change a lot over time, in type and in how often they happen. A notebook can help you and a clinician see how yours change. What you write is your own observation. This notebook does not say what causes a tic, and it does not say what will make tics better or worse.
• The choices for what a tic was like are examples, not a complete or official list. They come from the example lists on the pages named below: for movements, blinking or eye movements, facial movements such as grimacing, head or neck movements, shoulder shrugging, arm movements, jumping or hopping, and other jerking, twitching or tensing; for sounds, sniffing, throat clearing, humming or whistling, grunting or other sounds, and words or phrases. Use Other, in your own words, for anything else. Some tics do not fit any list.
• The choices for what was happening (such as stressed, excited, tired or unwell) are there so that you can write down what was going on, in your own way. The NHS says tics can be triggered by different things including stress, excitement or tiredness, and the Tourette Association of America names stress, anxiety, excitement, fatigue and illness among the factors that tics can change in response to. This notebook does not claim that anything you tick caused a tic. The summary only counts how often you wrote each choice. A choice that shows up often may just be a common part of your days.
• Some people feel an urge before a tic, and some do not. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke calls it a premonitory urge. Yes, A little, No and Not sure are all fine answers. Our Tourette guide explains that some people can hold tics back for a while, and that it takes effort. Whether to hold tics back is your choice. This notebook does not encourage it or discourage it. It is not CBIT (Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics) and it does not teach competing responses. CBIT is delivered by trained therapists.
• Time of day uses the time you write for an entry: morning is 05:00 to 11:59, afternoon is 12:00 to 17:59, evening is 18:00 to 21:59, and night is 22:00 to 04:59. Entries with no time are left out of that count.
• The summary only adds up what you wrote. It counts check-ins and entries, and it averages the 1 to 5 choices you made, to one decimal place, rounded half up. The numbers stand for words. For how your tics were, 1 is Not much and 5 is A great deal. Weeks start on Monday, and weeks with nothing written are left out. A week with few entries may mean you wrote less down, not that you had fewer tics. The summary never compares weeks and never calls one better or worse.
• The line chart is optional. Each point is one check-in. A line joins check-ins only when they are on days that follow each other, and days with no check-in are left as gaps. The same numbers are in the table below the chart.
• Hide what I wrote on screen shows the word Hidden in place of the words you typed (anything different, what helped, your own words for Other, and notes), so you can open the notebook near other people. The choices you ticked still show. The forms show your words while you type. Print, Copy and the files always include what you wrote. Hiding is not a lock. Anyone who can use this browser on this device can switch it off.
• Print, Copy and the files list everything oldest first, and they cover only the dates you choose. Include my notes controls the written boxes: anything different, what helped, and notes. Your own words for Other are always included. In the files, text that starts with = + - or @ gets an apostrophe in front, so that a spreadsheet does not run it as a formula.
• Limits: 1,000 check-ins (one for each day) and 1,000 tic entries. Anything different can be up to 500 characters, what helped up to 200, Other up to 100, and notes up to 1,000. The lists show 50 at a time. Everything is saved in this browser only. Clearing your browser data erases it, so print or copy anything you need to keep.

Where this comes from

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives examples of motor tics (blinking, shrugging the shoulders, jerking an arm) and vocal tics (humming, clearing the throat, yelling out a word or phrase), and says the types of tics and how often a person has them change a lot over time: CDC: About Tourette Syndrome
• The NHS lists examples of movement tics (such as rolling your eyes or blinking, shrugging your shoulders, jerking or twitching movements, tensing your stomach muscles, jumping) and sound tics (such as whistling, sniffing or clearing your throat a lot, making animal sounds, repeating a sound, word or phrase), and says tics can be triggered by different things including stress, excitement or tiredness: NHS: Tourette syndrome
• The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says tics come and go over time, that some tics are preceded by an urge or sensation (a premonitory urge), and that tics may worsen with excitement or anxiety and get better during calm, focused activities: NINDS: Tourette Syndrome
• The Tourette Association of America says tics regularly change in type, frequency and severity, sometimes for reasons unknown and sometimes in response to specific internal and external factors, including stress, anxiety, excitement, fatigue and illness, and lists examples of motor tics (such as eye blinking, facial grimacing, jaw movements, head bobbing or jerking, shoulder shrugging, neck stretching, arm jerking) and vocal tics (such as sniffing, throat clearing, grunting, hooting, shouting): Tourette Association of America: What is Tourette
• The Tourette syndrome and tics guide
• Crisis help

More tools

General support only. These tools are not medical, legal or diagnostic advice, and they do not replace professional help. If you are in crisis, go to Crisis help.