New therapy helps 10-year-old overcome
the social stigma of Tourette Syndrome
The Outpatient Rehabilitation
Center at Cookeville Regional is
now offering a new therapy for
people who have been diagnosed
with Tourette Syndrome. It is
called Comprehensive Behavioral
Intervention for Tics (CBIT), and
Cookeville Regional is the first
in the region, and one of three
hospitals in the state, to offer this
therapy.
CBIT is a non-drug treatment
consisting of three important
components:
• Training the patient to be
more aware of tics (sudden,
repetitive movements or sounds
that can be difficult to control)
• Training patients to do competing
behavior when they feel
the urge to tic
• Making changes to day-today
activities in ways that can be
helpful in reducing tics
Makayla Youngblood and Kelly Hooks, POT, in a CBIT session
Kelly Hooks, a pediatric occupational
therapist (POT) with The
Outpatient Rehabilitation Center
at CRMC, is certified to provide
417007-1
CBIT treatment and is the only
OT in the state who treats both
pediatric and adult patients.
Ten-year-old Makayla Youngblood
of Baxter, the first child to
complete the program, was diagnosed
with Tourette Syndrome
two years ago. Part of her recommended
treatment was CBIT
therapy, but it was only offered in
Nashville and Knoxville.
“That would have caused us to
have to drive to Nashville at least
once a week for every session,”
said Makayla’s mother, Minday.
“And after six months on the
waiting list, Makayla had only
made it to number 50.”
Meanwhile, Mindy, who works
at CRMC, heard about Hooks
and started sending Makayla to
her for occupational therapy.
“A lot of the things that Kelly
was working on with Makayla
were actually the same things
that the CBIT therapist would be
doing,” said Mindy. “Kelly took
an interest in it and wanted to
become a CBIT therapist for the
Upper Cumberland area.”
Hooks said, “I went to University
of Alabama Birmingham
Children’s Hospital to get my
certification. There are fewer than
100 occupational therapists in the
nation that actually do CBIT.”
Makayla had about 10 tics she
wanted to work on. CBIT treats
one tic per week in six to eight
therapy sessions over the course
of around four months.
“The person has to be able to
feel the urge before they tic,” explained
Hooks. “They might feel
a tingling sensation, they might
feel like they’re going to explode,
or like there’s a tickle that they
have to scratch in the back of the
throat.
“And so, as a CBIT therapist,
when they feel that urge, we
teach them a competing strategy,
which is something that’s socially
appropriate.”
The patient has to really want
to address the tic, and the therapy
can be very tiring. It made
Makayla so tired that she usually
wasn’t able to return to school on
her therapy days.
“In the adults that I have seen,
some of them said this is the
hardest thing that they’ve ever
done in their life because they’re
fighting against a neurological
process,” said Hooks.
It’s especially important that
the patient have a support system
16 • Medical Directory 2020-2021