Understanding the Phonological Capabilities of Children with Tourette Syndrome

Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) is a “complex neuropsychiatric disorder" manifested in the form of motor and phonic tics (Thibault, Felezeu, O'Connor, Todorov, Stip, & Lavoie, 2007). Albeit what the previous studies about how the condition affects people with TS, there appears to be a lack of studies that attempt to determine the advantages of children with TS, especially their phonological strengths. Informed by the Innateness Theory and Biological Determinism Theory, this case study aims to identify the phonological strengths of the TS patients. Specifically, the study seeks to understand how the children with TS responds to the Children’s Test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep) that revealed their phonological capabilities. Results showed that the children with TS have phonological strengths and weaknesses which are influenced by their motor and phonic tics. However, the learners with TS are not different compared to other children with no known condition as the study also proved that children with TS also have innate

mechanisms in terms of phonological utterances.