https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/health/the-tics-of-tourettes-often-go-undiagnosed.html https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/health/the-tics-of-touret... There

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/health/the-tics-of-tourettes-often-go-undiagnosed.html https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/health/the-tics-of-touret... There's a lot of undiagnosed Tourette's out there, probably because coprolalia (shouting curse words involuntarily) is the best-known symptom even though it's extremely rare even among people who have Tourette's: > In his report, Dr. Samuel H. Zinner, a pediatrician at the University of Washington specializing in developmental and behavioral problems, points out that the syndrome "often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed." > "Misconceptions about this tic disorder are customary," he adds, "with the syndrome often perceived as characterized by bizarre, fitful behaviors or comical outbursts of uncontrollable profanity." > The fact is that "relatively few patients yell out obscenities," Dr. Zinner said, adding that "most patients are affected only mildly and usually escape notice," even by their doctors. Complicating the diagnostic puzzle is the ability of patients, consciously or otherwise, to suppress their tics when expressing them could be embarrassing, as would occur in visits to the doctor. [snip] > Dr. Zinner says the disorder is far more common than is generally recognized, even by the Tourette Syndrome Association, which estimates that 1 person in 2,000 is affected. Rather, recent studies suggest that the real number of those with chronic tics is more like 1 in 100, suggesting that 750,000 children in this country have Tourette's. The disorder affects four times as many boys as girls and often runs in families. https://www.empr.com/home/tools/patient-fact-sheets/tourette-syndrome-patient-information-fact-sheet/2/ https://www.empr.com/home/tools/patient-fact-sheets/tourette... > Although coprolalia affects fewer than 15% of people with Tourette syndrome, a common misconception is that all sufferers display this symptom. As for hiding the disabled, there's clearly a spectrum. I agree that children have to be handled differently from adults, but I also think that older children have to be handled differently from younger ones, which is probably beyond what a platform can reasonably police. Reliably distinguishing over-18 from under-18 is hard enough.