Anyone else have a child w/facial tics?

[deerhart]

you didn't mention it but just an FYI, if the child is on any form of stimulant medication one side effect can be the onset of tics and the medication should be discontinued immediately in order to ensure the tics do not become permanent.

I also agree that my first thought was tourettes especially as the tics have worsened over time and changed.

 

[StephMK]

Thanks so much for all the advice & experiences. He has an appt w/his ped next Friday because she's gone til then. There isn't a ped neuro in our network but we have a Children's Hospital in town so that may be an option. I'm trying to log his tics so I can her an idea.

I wasn't familiar w/SPD until I saw it was sensory integration before. I have heard of that & suspected that for DD when she was younger. He does have some of the characteristics on their list.

He's not on meds now & I really don't want to go that way if he does have something unless it becomes absolutely necessary. He' fine otherwise & happily played on the trampoline today. I'll be curious to see if that helps him settle down a little.

 

[Mama Steph]

I have an 11 year old who has dealt with tics off and on. He had an ocular tic, took him to the eye dr and everything checked out ok. Then he had a tic where he would open his mouth really wide, like stretching his jaw. That went on for at least 6 months. We had the chiropractor treat his neck and jaw since he was sore from the ticing but eventually it went away on it's own. He also had severely delayed speech as a toddler, stutters now (off and on since the age of 3) and has dyslexia. He is extremely sensitive as well.
We have never found anything that ties all these symptoms together (though the delayed speech did help lead us to the dyslexia diagnosis). He just seems to be very quirky and sensitive.

 

[1tricky1]

DD started blinking and grunting last year. boy was i concerned. i took her to the dr who stated just keep an eye on it. i was telling daughter to stop doing it but she didnt realize that she was. a friend me that her symptoms were lack of magnesium phosphate.. check it out on the net
i was willing to try anything so off to the vitamin store and bought some. we
took it for a month and her symptoms stopped.

not sure if it was just a phase or not but after taking the mag phos it went away
sometimes she will start up again and i will put it in her milk again. i bought naturopathic version of the mag phoshate

vicky

 

[Sgt Mickey]

My daughter who is 10 started the blinking this year when school started and she did it for months and months. I let it go and see if it would stop or she would do more stuff. BUT it was just blinking and she just one day stopped. I haven't noticed her doing it in a while now. it is hard becasue everyone at school has to ask why are you blinking.

 

[a1tinkfans]

DS started by blinking a lot around Halloween. I took him to the eye dr & she saw some signs of allergies in his eyes so gave him eye drops. They didn't help and then he started sniffing all the time (Jan) and rubbing his nose. Then he added a grimace. Now it's a wrinkle and a tongue roll while sucking in air. He's pretty hyper unless he's playing video games, then he sits still & calmly.

I have called the dr twice over the months & both times the nurse tells me it's pretty common, don't address it & eventually it will go away. I suspect this is the nurse I don't like that couldn't draw blood from my teen DD correctly and now it has to be re-done.

On one hand, I have read that tics can be common & not sure anyone can fix them anyway. On the other hand, I know tics can be a sign of Tourette's & some other things & DH wants to get him checked out. DS is identified as highly gifted so he's kinda quirky anyway but I don't want kids to tease him. As of now, one asked but DS just said it's a bad habit.

Anyone have experience w/this?

Many "gifted" type kids do it as a way to release...Asperger kids/autism kids do it and it is called stimmimg (clearing throat, flapping arms, blinking/nodding) it is a calming issue for them when over stimulated in their body. ....others just have tics that come and go.
A good pediatric neuro exam can determine what/if the cause/diagnose it...bringing attention to it and "talking" about it likely will make it worse....grimacing, facial tics, humming etc...all are different than just blinking out of the blue...so, I would get him checked out..put your mind at rest and please GO with your GUT, if you think it is not "right", get it checked out...you are his best advocate......

 

[luvmyredheadboys]

OP When I read your post it was like reading about my brother. He does the same thing. He has a tic or twich but is smart as a whip but very disorganized and frazzled hiper but can sit still to play a video game. He has made the same comments about how he can't control his body also that he just can't stop it. So my mom spent years trying to help him and he was finally diagnosed with ADHD and has been able to get alot of help. He still has some tics from time to time but is much better at being able to control himself. Look up some info about it. It my help you for some ideas whne you go visit the Dr. The schools can also help with testing for ADHD. They told my mom no that my brother did not have adhd but she kept insisting till they tested. Look up some info about Ty Pennington he also suffers from ADHD and offers alot of info and experiances. Sorry about my typing/spelling today I jammed my hand Anyway I hope this helps.

 

[StephMK]

Lots of stuff to check on, I'm curious to see what his dr says next Friday. He just does not sit still so I'm checking on all the suggestions mentioned here. I did read the magnesium thing online, he does eat/drink a lot of calcium. I wondered about ADHD, none of his teachers have brought it up but he definitely meets some of those criteria too.

The blinking is back today but the nose wrinkle/tongue roll tics haven't gone away. They don't seem quite as frequent as some days when they are 1-3 min at a time.

 

[mrsmarilyn]

Thanks so much for all the advice & experiences. He has an appt w/his ped next Friday because she's gone til then. There isn't a ped neuro in our network but we have a Children's Hospital in town so that may be an option. I'm trying to log his tics so I can her an idea.

If you have a video camera, shoot some video of him when he's tic'ing. I promise, they NEVER do it at the doctor when you need them to! ;-/ The video is worth it's weight in gold to show what you are talking about.

 

[shaylahc1]

I haven't read the whole thread but I think tics are pretty common in children. My 10 y.o. used to have a "humming" tic and it would come and go....eventually it went away and she hasn't done it in years. My DS has a really annoying "gasping" tic...it usually comes in the winter time when he gets a lot of colds and he will gasp repeatedly. Cold clears up and gasp is still there His preschool teacher called me once because they thought he was having an asthma attack Nope it's a tic. Come to think of it he hasn't been doing it much lately so hopefully it's on its way out again...

 

[notsosnowwhite]

Our pediatrician had a really good way of explaining vocal / facial tics. She compared it to holding in a sneeze - you can physically hold it in, but you're going to be thinking of nothing BUT holding it back. She said it was ok for us to point out to our child when the vocal tics were happening, but that we should probably try to tolerate it the best we can. Medication would be a very last resort - not recommended by our pediatrician.