Reduction of an eye tic by controlled blinking

The eye-squinting tic of a 9-year-old girl was found to be reduced somewhat (54%) by facial relaxation and almost eliminated (97% reduction) by voluntary soft blinking for brief experimental periods. The child was taught to engage in the voluntary blinking at home contingent upon the tic. The tic decreased to zero during the first 6 weeks and remained absent at a 2-year follow-up conducted in the home. Voluntary blinking appeared to be inherently incompatible with the eye-squinting tic and offers a clinical method of effective treatment by arranging it on a response-contingent basis.