Is there a risk with habit reversal therapy that external tic is reduced however the urge [to tic] remains which has no outlet (as reported sometimes happens in Deep Brain Stimulation)?
Question from Tourettes Action's Research Conference 'Understanding TS' 30 Nov 2010 - 2
The Speaker's panel answered:
''No- the point with HRT is to perform a competing response instead of performing the tic, when you feel the urge to do a specific tic. Since you are for example tensing the muscles in your leg instead of performing your usual tic, the thought is that the urge would be ‘dealt with’ and eventually pass as you are tensing the other muscles for as long as you feel the urge for the other tic. ''
I'm currently undergoing HRT (please read my blog entry with the picture of Noel Fielding done up as the Moon!). As Linnea said the aim of the treatment is to replace a bothersome tic with something less bothersome, so the urge is still there to perform the tic but you perfrom the replacement tic in it's place until the urge passes. Does that make sense? It's quite hard to explain quickly.
I've also wtriten about the competeing response idea in another blog entry - the one with the picture of Roald Dahl's Witches. Although it's about Tricatilimania (pulling out hair) HRT was originally developed for Tricotilimania and the urges are quite similar.
The trouble with doing this as I remember trying this a few years ago & found for me anyway I ended up with twice the amount of tics! heyho! still you gotta try i suppose.
I just wish people would stop commenting & staring though. 
my son is only 10 and has been trying HRT for the last 12 months. i feel hes just to young to understand what hes ment to do as hes not always aware when hes ticing so cant put an opersite movement in place. i can see it would help in the furture at some point when he has some control and understanding of whats happening to him, but for now we just have to fight on. has anyone else got any ideas of what to do for his age????
Catherine, thanks for that (it was us that asked that question at the conference) and yes what you say does make sense.
Laura my lad is 10 also and we have been told he's probably too young for HRT at the moment but maybe in a few years.
He has been able to disguise a lot of his tics for years now if he feels the need but with most of his tics he is not aware of an urge, they are just 'there'.
hi catherine,
i think your right. i feel lewis is to young but i do think once hes older it would help. just got to get his consultant to under stand and stop telling me i just need to be a super mum!!!! my son also isnt aware of most of his tics and im ment to tell him and record him ticing and play it back so he can see what he looks like but i feel it makes the tics worse bring attention to them. what do u think??
Wow! Just reading that made me tic really badly and gave me a slight ice-cream headache
Thaks for the post Linnea but with me 99pc of the time I'm ticcing and it hardly ever stops
It does sometimes and I don't even notice they've eased off, other people have to tell me but what they don't realise is that I'm still ticcing inside
I don't understand how I could replece a tic with doing something else if I'm hardly aware that I'm going to tic in the first place
With some tics I can see it such as I know when I'm going to bang the table but to just not do it, even the mere thought of it drives me nuts
I find the most frustrating thing is "Wow! You're hardly ticcing today!"
Yes, thanks, I *was* hardly ticcing, thanks for making me think about it... 
Main stream school or Special needs school?
Motor tics in a 9 year old
On behalf of my daughter aged 11