What to Expect?
Location & Staff | Referral | Initial Visit | Follow-Up Visit
Location and Staff
The Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorder Clinic meets multiple times per month at various Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center clinic locations. The clinic staff includes Dr. Donald L. Gilbert and Dr. Steve W. Wu who see new and follow-up visits, and an advanced care specialist nurse practitioner Tara Lipps RN CNP who sees follow-up and manages longterm medical issues of Tourette Syndrome symptoms. Nursing staff Libby Cox and Sheila Perry also assist with clinical management, care coordination, and patient education.
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Referral
The Tourette Syndrome and Movement Disorders Clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center does not require a letter of referral from your doctor or your child's doctor. You may self refer if your insurance company allows this. We do welcome email, letters, or phone calls from the primary physician to provide helpful information.
How to contact our office:
Email: tics@cchmc.org
Phone: 513-636-4222 or 1-800-344-2462 x 4222 Opt.#1 for scheduling; Opt. #3 for Libby Cox, RN and Sheila Perry RN
Fax: 513-636-3980 Please put ATTN: Libby Cox, RN or Sheila Perry RN
Once the appointment is scheduled, you will receive an information packet, including questionnaires to complete. We are happy to email this if you provide us with your email address, so you can type your responses. Please bring this packet with you to the clinic appointment.
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Initial Visit
The initial visit allows us to gain as full an understanding as possible of the broad spectrum of neurological, developmental, and emotional symptoms that may accompany Tourette Syndrome and other Tic Disorders. Results of previous treatments, if any, are also very important. For this reason we appreciate your filling out the intake questionnaire. It is most efficient if you can fill this out prior to the visit. To receive a copy prior to your scheduled visit, please contact us at tics@cchmc.org. You may feel free to email it back to us at this HIPAA secure email.
Prior records may also help. In general, records from the pediatrician, family practitioner, or internist are not needed unless they specifically address the Tic Disorder or other neurological or psychiatric symptoms. However, if you would like us to review prior medical, psychological, neuropsychological, or educational assessments, please bring them to the visit. Brain imaging studies (CT Scans, MRI scans) and EEGs are almost never helpful in patients with Tics or Tourette Syndrome. However, if imaging studies have been obtained and you want us to review them, please bring them to the clinic visit on a CD.
Sometimes tics and other movements are best seen on home videos. You may feel free to bring these videos to clinic for our review as this can be extremely helpful. Contact us if you want to send them digitally.
All New Patients are evaluated by a Movement Disorder and Tourette Syndrome specialist physician in clinic, generally Dr. Gilbert or Dr. Wu. Because this is a teaching hospital, a Movement Disorder Fellow, who has already completed at least 5 years training in Pediatrics and Neurology, or a Cincinnati Children’s or University of Cincinnati Resident Physician in Training may also participate in the evaluation. You may also meet medical students. You will also meet nurses or our nurse practitioner at your first visit. The physician’s assessment begins with a review of the information on the questionnaire, any other information you have brought, and a detailed neurological examination. We will discuss with you any diagnostic testing we recommend, if any, then review with you our recommendations for a treatment plan. This may include education about the diagnosis, discussion of how to be proactive with peers, family, and the school, medical treatment, behavioral assessment or treatment through a psychologist, or referral to psychiatrists or other specialists if necessary.
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Follow-Up Visit
Follow-up care by the Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorder Clinic varies depending the needs of children and adults we evaluate. Milder cases may need education at the first visit, and follow-up only as needed if symptoms worsen. Other individuals with more impairing symptoms may opt for medical or behavioral treatments at the first visit, in which case follow-up appointments will be recommended to monitor treatment benefits and possible side effects. Follow-up may also be needed to discuss results of recommended tests or referrals. Our Certified Nurse Practitioner Tara Lipps oversees many follow-up visits and she is available for urgent follow-up visits. Ms. Lipps has worked with Dr. Gilbert since 2000 and has evaluated hundreds of patients with Tourette Syndrome. She has received additional subspecialist training through the Tourette Syndrome Association USA, has co-authored a published review on Tourette Syndrome treatment options, and is certified in Ohio and Kentucky to evaluate follow-up visits independently. All diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in our practice are reviewed as a team with Drs. Gilbert and/or Wu.
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