Improving Symptom Trajectories of Tic Disorders and Co-occurring Diagnoses: The Role of Integrative Intensive Intervention

Improving Symptom Trajectories of Tic Disorders and Co-occurring Diagnoses: The Role of Integrative Intensive Intervention

Improving Symptom Trajectories of Tic Disorders and Co-occurring Diagnoses: The Role of Integrative Intensive Intervention

The purpose to the current study was to examine the efficacy of a telehealth, group-based, combined and intensive intervention for youth with tic disorders (TDs) and common co-occurring diagnoses. Families seeking treatment for TDs and common co-occurring diagnoses will be randomly assigned to receive treatment immediate (enrollment in the next group) or remain on a 1-month waitlist, and then receive treatment. Outcomes will be assessed across the treatment phase, immediately following treatment (post), as well as 1-month following the end of treatment.

Over 1,000,000 children in the U.S. have a tic disorder (TD). TDs can substantially impact daily child functioning across numerous domains leading to a significant public health impact of TDs. Additionally, an overwhelming majority of children with a TD have at least one co-occurring disorder. Over 60% also meet criteria for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), half struggle with anxiety and at least a third have clinically elevated Obsessive Compulsive-spectrum symptoms. Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is a first-line treatment for youth with TDs. It has been shown to be effective in reducing the frequency, duration, and severity of tics in children and adolescents. Nonetheless, access to trained CBIT providers remains limited, and common comorbid conditions are not addressed in standard CBIT. Thus, there is a desperate need for interventions that can simultaneously increase CBIT access and incorporate treatment strategies for comorbidities. Intensive, group-based interventions are well-established for the treatment of comorbid disorders and have been shown to be a cost-efficient modality for delivering multimodal interventions. Intensive formats provide the opportunity for families to gain access to treatment for a limited time without the extended burden often associated with weekly treatment sessions. Further, intensive group-based treatments can simultaneously treat comorbidities. To address the critical need for increasing access to CBIT and simultaneously treating common comorbidities, a week-long group-based intensive intervention for children with TDs and common co-occurring diagnoses (Taming Tics Together) has been developed and will be evaluated. Participants will be randomly assigned to immediate treatment or a 1-month waitlist control. Assessments will take place pre-treatment, daily throughout the intervention, as well as at 1-month post treatment. The primary aims of the current study are to evaluate symptom reduction in tic severity and co-occurring condition symptom severity. Importantly, the investigators seek to learn more about the effectiveness of an intensive-format for tics and co-occurring diagnoses, which may lead to mechanisms to improve access to care for families who often are not able to access effective treatment.

Independent evaluators assessing outcomes are kept unaware of the specific treatment condition and pre-treatment assessment scores.

Families will participate in the 5-day telehealth-based intensive intervention and will receive three treatment formats which will provide CBIT and co-occurring diagnosis treatment: Child/teen-only groups Individual one-to-one sessions Parent/caregiver-only groups

Families in the 1-month waitlist control group will participate in the initial intake assessment, then receive no treatment for a 1-month period. Following the 1-month period, families will participate in an assessment, then will be offered a place in a Taming Tics Together group

Combination of Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) and Evidence-based interventions for co-occurring diagnoses (i.e., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Behavioral Parent Training)

Families assigned to the immediate treatment group will receive the telehealth-based Taming Tics Together protocol(created using well-established, evidence-based treatment protocols), which includes group (parent/caregiver-only, child/teen-only) and individualized one-to-one sessions to address tics and co-occurring diagnoses.

Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (Leckman et al., 1989). The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale is a clinician-administered assessment evaluating tic history, as well as tics present over the past 7-10 days. The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale has been used in several randomized controlled trials and has exhibited excellent internal consistency (i.e., McGuire et al., 2018). Motor and vocal tics are rated based on their number, frequency, intensity, complexity and interference (each rated on a scale from 0-5), and impairment (rated on a scale from 0-50). The Total Tic Severity Score evaluates overall motor and vocal tic severity (range 0-50), and the Total Yale Global Tic Severity Scale Score evaluates the total tic severity score in additional to impairment, with a range of scores from 0 to 100. Higher scores indicate increased severity.

Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS; Chorpita et al., 2000). The RCADS is a 47-item self-report measure to evaluate several internalizing domains. Items are rated on a scale from 0 (never) to 3 (always). The RCADS has demonstrated high internal consistency (Chorpita, Moffit, & Gray, 2005)).

Disruptive Behavior Disorder Rating Scale (DBD-RS; Pelham et al.,1992). The DBD-RS is a 45-item parent rating scale to assess for disruptive behaviors, specifically, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder. Informants complete the rating scale using a four-point Likert scale (zero = not at all; one = just a little; two = pretty much; three = very much). The DBD-RS has demonstrated high internal consistency (Pelletier et al., 2006).

Inclusion Criteria: Youth participants are between seven and 17 years old Meet diagnostic criteria for a primary or co-primary diagnosis of a Tic Disorder Are available to participate in all sessions Are comfortable in English Youth participants have at least borderline clinician symptoms of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or an anxiety disorder. Exclusion Criteria: Are identified as having a psychiatric condition that is more impairing and requiring treatment prior to a tic intervention. Meet criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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