Science & Tech

Researchers Testing Cost-Saving ‘TicHelper’ Program

Texas A&M researchers are endeavoring to help people who struggle with tic disorders by developing an online self-help program.
By Lesley Henton, Texas A&M Marketing & Communications September 8, 2015

TicHelper
TicHelper is an online program designed to help manage tics.

(Shutterstock)

Texas A&M researchers are endeavoring to help people who struggle with tic disorders by developing an online self-help program and are paying volunteers to try the program this month.

Douglas Woods, professor and head of Texas A&M’s Department of Psychology, is part of the team developing “TicHelper,” a computer program that helps children and adults recognize and manage their tics.

Tics are habitual spasmodic contractions of the muscles, well known in Tourette Syndrome patients, but can also be caused by a variety of ailments including epilepsy, thyroid disease, nervous system disorders and chemical poisoning.

Woods, who is co-chair of the Tourette Association of America Medical Advisory Board, says TicHelper builds on an already established mode of treatment known as Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT).

He says CBIT was developed to be administered by therapists, but it’s difficult for many patients to find CBIT-trained therapists, and if they do, the treatments are costly.

“So we’ve taken CBIT and modified it to be an online self-help program,” Woods explains. “Not only does this mean more open access to treatment, we are also trying to help cut costs.” He says the eventual cost of TicHelper will likely be the same as one visit to a CBIT-trained therapist.

Douglas Woods
Douglas Woods

Woods and his team of grad students, along with colleagues at the University of Utah, are inviting volunteers — children and adults — with tics to join the clinical trials.

After an initial evaluation, those accepted into the trial will be assigned to one of two conditions. Should participants be assigned to TicHelper.com, Woods explains, they will begin with an educational module, followed by the second module in which the researchers identify the tics and help subjects recognize what factors in their environment trigger tics. “For some people, it’s watching TV or stress,” Woods notes. “So we work to identify the tics and what makes them worse.”

Once the tics have been identified and ranked, the researchers will work with the patients on one tic at a time, utilizing “habit reversal” – teaching control over tics.

Aside from a few in-person evaluations, the program is self-contained, online. “There is a video character called the ‘TicHelper’ who acts as a guide,” Woods notes.

TicHelper is funded by a National Institute of Mental Health Small Business Innovation Research grant, a program designed to bring together small business and researchers to develop commercially viable products.

Volunteers wanting to join the trial should contact Chris Bauer at 979-458-4218; volunteers are being accepted through the end of September. Those who complete the entire TicHelper program will receive $100 for time and effort.

For more information on the Texas A&M Tourette and OCD Clinic, visit touretteclinic.tamu.edu.

Media contact: tamunews@tamu.edu.

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