Nervous ticks in children

[Nancyg56]

I just saw this thread. My youngest son had tics when he was younger. The firest was that mouth stretching one that the OP said her son has. He also would blink his eyes a lot, the more nervous he got or if he had done something wrong his tics got worse. I did bring him to the eye Dr to make sure that there was nothing wrong with his vision and he said that my son did not get enough attention. That was when I knew to trust my own judgement and just ignore the tics. He could not help them so calling attention was just goin make them worse.

Dan is 30 now and just fine. Dh and I knew his stress level just by watching him and letting him fugure out how to manage his stresses. DD told me not too long ago that she read that if you try to teach the child to contain the tics they never outgrow them. Good luck OP!

 

[Jerseylicious]

Hi all. Just joined this site today. I found this discussion by researching tics becasue my 6 year old daughter just started doing this thing with her neck and jaw where she extends it out and opens her eyes real wide. She has been doing it so much lately that her neck pops when she does it. She has never had anything like this and has always been "normal." I know that she is still "normal" but it pains me to see her do this. Do I take her to the doctor??

I would definitely take her to the doctor just to be checked out. Take her to a pediatric neurologist. It's best just to have her tested just to be sure. But it does sound like a tic.

I feel as you do, that even though I know what it is and what's causing it, believe me it totally pains me to see my daughter's tics. Yes, I know it could be worse. But right now she's got a tic in her lower back and it jolts her whole body. She doesn't even know she does it, which is weird! And I hate seeing it....but it doesn't hurt her, and remember, it's the lesser of all evils.

 

[gpmac]

just found this thread.....i am going through this now with my 7 year old daughter since last june.
Her 'blinks' come and go on a very regular cycle......6-8 weeks of them - then none - then back exactly 3 months later. in between we have some neck rolling, head tilting and wrinst rolling......but these don't seem to bother her like the eye tics do......she's very aware of them lookig 'strange'.
now the normal 'blinks' are coming on more as a big eyebrow scowel and rolling of the eyes.
She has an appointment iwht her ped next week for her 7 year checkup - but we've brought it to his attention before....he says ignore them....they will probably go away by late childhood on their own if not sooner.
Don't know about a neurologist.....not sure he can really be of any help other than a 'diagnosis' if we really need that. She's a good student and has no real problems in school. From what i understand the only other thing they can do for me is give her medication which i don't feel is necessarry.
Good luck to all with children with this issue. i know how hard it is to see them suffer in anyway!
G

 

[jody618]

My DS at age 4 started to "mimic" his sentences. Now at age 7 he started to blink uncontrollably. The blinking is now down to a minimum but led to a constant smelling of his hands along with clearing of his throat. We too initially took him to the eye Dr. for what we thought was something wrong with his vision. The tics seem to flare up when he's stressed, anxious, or tired. He was just diagnosed with tourette's syndrome.

 

[JoyG]

Has anyone's kid started saying the same sentence or phrase over and over?

My 9 year son has been saying "I like pie." (and to my knowledge he doesn't like pie)I can't tell you how often I've heard it in the past couple of weeks. All the time. He says it for no reason at all, in the middle of conversations. He just walked by in the hallway and I heard him say it to himself.

I don't know if it's a tic or if it's just an annoying habit. I asked him today why he was saying it. If he felt like he couldn't help himself or if he was just being silly. He said he thought it was funny.

He does have tics that wax and wane, but they have never been a whole sentence before, just eye blinks, coughs, things like that.

I researched online, but it seems the vocal utterances for Tourettes are like curses and things. Would "I like pie" count?

 

[CathrynRose]

Has anyone's kid started saying the same sentence or phrase over and over?

My 9 year son has been saying "I like pie." (and to my knowledge he doesn't like pie)I can't tell you how often I've heard it in the past couple of weeks. All the time. He says it for no reason at all, in the middle of conversations. He just walked by in the hallway and I heard him say it to himself.

I don't know if it's a tic or if it's just an annoying habit. I asked him today why he was saying it. If he felt like he couldn't help himself or if he was just being silly. He said he thought it was funny.

He does have tics that wax and wane, but they have never been a whole sentence before, just eye blinks, coughs, things like that.

I researched online, but it seems the vocal utterances for Tourettes are like curses and things. Would "I like pie" count?

I don't know, as far as Tourettes is concerned.

I think boys that age, are just weird, honestly. I remember my son - not the one who had a tic problem - being in the car going "Woo - I'm a bug. Woo - I'm a bug. Woo - I'm a bug"

I finally told him to shut up.

Then there was a recent Family Guy episode on where one of the characters was saying the same thing. I imagined one of the writers must have been next to me that day, in the car.

I think that's just an annoying kid thing.

 

[Tinijocaro]

I believe it's just your son being an obnoxious 9 year old. Last year, when ds was 9, he said "I like cheese" ALL the time! He also said "I like applesausage"???? Nine year old boys have very strange senses of humor. Definitely NOT tourettes.

Has anyone's kid started saying the same sentence or phrase over and over?

My 9 year son has been saying "I like pie." (and to my knowledge he doesn't like pie)I can't tell you how often I've heard it in the past couple of weeks. All the time. He says it for no reason at all, in the middle of conversations. He just walked by in the hallway and I heard him say it to himself.

I don't know if it's a tic or if it's just an annoying habit. I asked him today why he was saying it. If he felt like he couldn't help himself or if he was just being silly. He said he thought it was funny.

He does have tics that wax and wane, but they have never been a whole sentence before, just eye blinks, coughs, things like that.

I researched online, but it seems the vocal utterances for Tourettes are like curses and things. Would "I like pie" count?

 

[CathrynRose]

I believe it's just your son being an obnoxious 9 year old. Last year, when ds was 9, he said "I like cheese" ALL the time! He also said "I like applesausage"???? Nine year old boys have very strange senses of humor. Definitely NOT tourettes.

See? Mine was a bug - and your guy's like cheese & pie.

 

[punkin]

Boy this is an old thread.....

 

[runwad]

Boy this is an old thread.....

ya but wow I'm glad I stumbled across it!! Our DS9 has done the shrugging shoulder thing and blinking his eyes. Neither is done now. DH is always on DS to stop. Now I know he can't and I'll be sure to educate DH on this.

 

[AustinTink]

Has anyone's kid started saying the same sentence or phrase over and over?

My 9 year son has been saying "I like pie." (and to my knowledge he doesn't like pie)I can't tell you how often I've heard it in the past couple of weeks.

I think that's a line from a show. The kids in my son's class say that all the time. And, yes, it is highly annoying.

 

[MomRN]

I haven't read this whole thread, but I picked up posts here and there mentioning repeating "snorting" sounds and blinking. My son (4) has had both of these problems in the past. His diagnosis is anxiety with OCD tendencies. As his behaviors do not effect his health, and right now do not effect him socially, we are taking a wait and see approach. To me, he's just a quirky little kid.

 

[JoyG]

Boy this is an old thread.....

Yes, but it's good to have someplace to go when I've got a new tic question.

 

[JoyG]

I believe it's just your son being an obnoxious 9 year old. Last year, when ds was 9, he said "I like cheese" ALL the time! He also said "I like applesausage"???? Nine year old boys have very strange senses of humor. Definitely NOT tourettes.

No way! You know what? He was saying "I like cheese" for a few weeks too! Whew. Looks like this is an annoying kid thing.

When I was a a kid, I remember going through a stupid phase too. LOL. My line was, "I'm a card...play me." What the heck was I thinking? Who knows, but I said it all the time.

 

[Hillbeans]

This is an old thread, but I am happy to say that DS9 is growing out of his tic's...he did that breathing one last year and it was hard to deal with as I kept thinking something was wrong. It just stopped one day and he's not done it since.

 

[DVC mom]

My DS had tics starting at 2nd grade. We went to Children's Hospital and was diagnosed with Tourette's. He only has visual tics not the verbal ones. He is now in his first year at the University and he has delt with it very well.

 

[punkin]

Just wanted to give an "older" child's perspective here.

My DD17 was diagnosed with Tourettes in first grade by her pediatrician. We did not feel it necessary to go to a neurologist because her tics were fairly mild and a lot of kids just outgrow them apparently. Well around 10th grade, they became pretty pronounced (and one vocal tic was really bothering her and hurting her throat) and I finally took her to a neurologist. The medication suggested had lots of side effects (and it wasn't even one of the heavy duty meds) and my DD decided she would rather put up with the tics (did I mention she also has anxiety and OCD issues common with Tourettes?). The worst of the tics went away within a year with counseling and some stress relieving accommodations at school. She does develop new tics every now and then (currently she has an eye twitch that's annoying her), particularly during times of high stress. However, overall it has not unduly interfered with her life. She copes.

 

[CathrynRose]

Yes, but it's good to have someplace to go when I've got a new tic question.

It's been a great thread through the years. We've all been able to share and discuss our kids progress, as well.

My (gonna be 15 in 2 months) son, had pretty much outgrown it all. He occasionally, when he's under stress will do this shocked eyebrow thing now and again. <- Not quite that bad, but you get the idea.

But I feel - generally - these tic's resolve themselves.

 

[Jerseylicious]

I finally told him to shut up.

Good one...ROFL!

 

[iwrbnd]

Just when I think one thing is over....*Sigh*. My DS now developed a breathing tic, where he takes loud, short breaths in with air when he's reading or doing his homework and it gets worse when he's nervous or excited. It sort of grew from there where he is now doing it all the time, and it's been going on for a few weeks. I am not sure whether I should take him to the doctor. He does seem to replace one tic with a new one so i'm not overly concerned, but I do worry because the tics he's had in the past have been less, how do I say this, obvious than this one?

Two of my kids had breathing tics off and on! I also didn't know what it was and was thinking we needed a chest x-ray or something. We were at the doctor (for another problem) and the doctor asked "So, how long has he had a breathing tic?" I was shocked and said "Is that what that is!?!?" Who knew?