Group Dynamics as Intervention for Filipinos Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome

This research had been presented in the 1st Philippine Graduate Conference in Education at the UP College of Education last March 07, 2009.


ABSTRACT OF THE RESEARCH

Unusual blinking of the eye, peculiar hand movements, sound repetitions, word echoing are just some of the symptoms associated with Tourette Syndrome (TS). With different manifestations, people who are diagnosed with the disorder are often ridiculed simply because the public’s lack of knowledge regarding the disorder.

Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by neurological tics which are often physical and verbal. The attacks are even so transient that after the occurrence of a tic or tics, the person can go back to his or her usual business. Symptoms of Tourette's are tics like sniffing, coughing, humming, whistling, throat clearing, shoulder shrugging, eye blinking, and neck stretching. The onset of the disorder usually begins in childhood at age between 7- 10. The occurrence of symptoms usually begins on the face called facial tics and if the symptoms worsen may progress down to the lower body. Symptoms usually intensify during teenage years and diminish in late adolescence or early adulthood. Patients may also develop co-occurring behavioral disorders, namely obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or attention deficit disorder (ADD), poor impulse control, and/or sleep disorders.

The study is a quasi- experimental research with the use of a one-group-pretest- posttest design. With the use of group counseling as an aspect of group dynamics, this paper specifically explored the underlying issues, problems or concerns of a person with Tourette Syndrome to help the person cope with the disorder. Consequently, this paper also intended to document the possible beneficial effects of group counseling for the medical clientele.

This study involved five Filipino male respondents suffering from Tourette Syndrome, all in the prime of their lives, age ranging from 19 to 28. One of them has a co-morbid disorder and one was medicating at the time of the study. Two of the respondents have severe form of the disorder exhibiting behavior such as coughing, itching, head jerking, barking, kicking, arm folding, knee bumping, teeth sucking and eye poking. All five suffer from the Tourette Syndrome’s physiological symptom (tic), behavioral (loss of self-esteem, irritability, aggression and lack of concentration) and psychosocial (inability to interact, anxiety, depression, social stigma and social isolation).

Different counseling needs of the five respondents were discovered such as health concerns, anxiety for not finishing their studies, wariness about their future employment, inability to perform household and social responsibilities and concern over non-acceptance by peers. Specific counseling needs akin to an individual were also identified.

The five respondents underwent a series of group counseling sessions. A comparison of their pre- and post-test average scores on the Tourette Syndrome Symptom Assessment Scale (TSSAS) revealed a significant decrease of the symptoms after the group counseling sessions, except for the physiological (tics), which remained constant even after the group counseling. Highest percentage decrease was registered on depression (-40%), social isolation (-35.48%), aggression (-31.03%), irritability (-30.55%) and anxiety (-27.77%). The lowest percentage decrease even after the group counseling was on self-esteem (-10.71%) and interaction (-16.36%), probably indicating that the respondents’ self-esteem was so low as a result of the Tourette Syndrome. The significant effect, however, of group counseling as manifested in the percentage decrease of the symptoms after the intervention reveals that group counseling as an intervention among individuals suffering from the disorder really works.

T-test analysis revealed that there is no significant difference between physiological and psychosocial symptoms of Tourette Syndrome and group counseling. However, this study found a significant difference between behavioral symptoms and Group Counseling.This study validates the finding of earlier studies that group counseling is an effective intervention strategy in order to alleviate the condition of individuals suffering from Tourette syndrome. This study may spark other studies on Tourette syndrome aimed at creating a knowledge base for better understanding of the disorder. This may prove beneficial not only to individuals with Tourette syndrome and their families but also to medical doctors, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, educators, and counselors who have been caregivers of individuals with Tourette syndrome.

In a general sense, group counseling may be regarded as an effective intervention strategy for individuals diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. The bottom line is the understanding that society has on individuals with Tourette syndrome. It is important for medical doctors, psychologists and guidance counselors to make an advocacy for the general society to understand the situation of these individuals. Understanding each one of them heightens the understanding of using group counseling as an effective intervention for individuals diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.

This researcher suggests peer education programs to be spearheaded by counselors in different settings as these kinds of programs may prevent occurrence of bullying and teasing which are very common among individuals with Tourette syndrome.

In addition, it is suggested that further research in industrial setting be conducted aimed at assisting industrial counselors explore the issues underlying the disorder and how these factors affect individuals with the syndrome in the work place and their relationships with co-workers in order to improve working skills and relationships.

Finally, this research suggests the possibility to include the study of Tourette Syndrome and other special groups in the discipline of Counselor Education aimed at widening and enriching the perspective of the discipline, which may bridge counselor education with other disciplines such as Psychology and Medicine and other medical allied professions.
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AUTHOR: Maria Rowena Balmores- Victorino, M.Ed.,RN, CRNC