Nervous ticks in children

[Magpie]

Hi there, I`m new on this thread, but i`ve read all the posts. I can also say that I`m new in the "problem" since my DD5 started ticking a month ago...Well, at first it was constant hand smelling, then came also excessive blinking and lip licking, along with touching face and body. Well, it really freaked me out, I talked to some therapists and they told me not to worry unless it lasted more then a year, but it is not much of a comfort to me at all. We live a quiet life, she is a smart and happy little girl, there were no stresses around what so ever (or I didn` t notice?!), we have apsolutely NO family history of tics, Tourettes or OCD, anxiety. This might seem we`re perfect, which we surely are not, but I`m just trying to point that there are no hereditary issues in this matter. What worries me the most is that she has all this tics at the same time,well, the blinking has eased a bit, but the other ones are still there! I also wanted to thank you all for wonderful posts and eye-opening experiences that you were ready to share with others, that was comforting. If you have any suggestions for me too, I would appreciate it! All the best for all the kids!

Your therapists are right - try not to worry! Okay, that might be impossible, but definitely don't let your daughter see your concern.

My daughter was "twitchy" as a little girl. The hand-flapping was most noticeable, and it used to irritate me because it looked so darn goofy. (This wasn't the fake kind of hand flapping that grown women sometimes put on, this was a baby bird frantically trying to achieve liftoff!) The spinning was kind of cute. The spitting was pretty gross. However, her primary thing was the flapping. I noticed that she tended to flap more when she was excited and/or distracted. It was obvious she wasn't doing it intentionally, so instead of tackling it directly I worked instead on teaching her to calm herself down. I'd take her by the hands and look her in the eye and say, "Breathe, sweetie! Breathe!"

We worked on finding her center, calming down, relaxing. It took years. She still flapped occasionally, even up to the age of eight or nine, but at least she wasn't clearing a space around herself in a crowd. And gradually she got less twitchy. She also became a lot calmer and more mature.

She's 14 now and hardly flaps at all. Sometimes her hands will get going if she's reading a story that she finds very exciting, but it's a much smaller movement. It shouldn't cause any problems in study hall when she goes to university.

And in retrospect, I wish I'd spent less time worrying about it when she was small, and more time just enjoying her, my flapping, spinning, goofy kid. She's totally different now, and I'll never see that wee baby girl again.

 

[keti]

Thanks for the reply, Magpie , I know that I should be patient and calm, but sometimes it just breaks me...I try not to show it in front of her, but it`s hard...Anyway, time will do the trick, I`m sure.

 

[EllenFrasier]

Yes! My ds17 had this when he was about 8 years old. He would squint one eye when he was talking to someone. It was totally involuntary and he was not doing it on purpose. I did bring it to his attention though. After a while, not sure how long, it did stop. It was very annoying and kind of scary. I thought he was developing Turrets Syndrome or something. I think we did ask our pediatrician about it at the time and he said it was a nervous tick and he would likely outgrow it, which he did. Good luck with your son - that sniffing would drive me nuts too.

 

[keti]

I`m freaking out, we`ve just come back from our vacation, and DD started with eye rolling last night! This really scares me, now it`s blinking and some strange eye rolling, I thought that things were getting better, but it seems I was hoping for no reason! She actually WAS better for a few days, but now it it awful again, even worse than ever. HELP!

 

[ChristmasElf]

The diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome is a motor tic as well as a vocal tic that lasts for a period of a year or more.

A tic can be eye rolling (this is usually one of the first signs-either rolling or dragging of the eyes to one side)
squinting
jaw movements
flexing the neck
tensing in the arms or jerking of the arms
licking the lips repeatedly
opening and closing of the mouth (hard candy like lifesavers or jolly ranchers will help with this one)
tics tend to start at the head and eventually will move down the body. It is not uncommon for one tic to last for weeks or even months, that tic may stop and be replaced with a new tic.

Vocal tics can be: clearing of the throat, a cough like sound, sniffing, jaw popping just to name a few.

Yelling or calling out bad words or inappropriate words is NOT Tourettes. That is called Copralia. Less than 7% of people that are affected by Tourette Syndrome have copralia.

A pediatrician is not likely to diagnose Tourette Syndrome. Ask for a pediatric nuerologist as they will have much better knowledge. They will conduct a series of tests and observations and take it from there.
Some of the meds prescribed for Tourette SYndrome are Risperadol, (Risperadone) Clonidine, Tenex, Klonopin- no single drug will work the same way on all individuals and the Dr will have to decide which one will help the most with the tics.
Also the tics won't completely dissappear with the medication, but will be alleviated by about 85%.

Tourette Syndrome usually shows up in children around the age of 6-8 years, is more common in males, and usually will start to dissapate around the age of 17 years. Ages 13-15 are the common age when the tics will be the most active. Every child is different though and ages will differ.

There are some really informative sites on the internet you can check out for more info: www.tsa-usa.org

 

[punkin]

I`m freaking out, we`ve just come back from our vacation, and DD started with eye rolling last night! This really scares me, now it`s blinking and some strange eye rolling, I thought that things were getting better, but it seems I was hoping for no reason! She actually WAS better for a few days, but now it it awful again, even worse than ever. HELP!

You really should take her to a neurologist for a diagnosis. Mine was diagnosed with Tourette's in 1st grade. We have never had her on any medication because the tics were manageable, but just having a diagnosis really helped in school. Her 1st grade teacher (horrible woman) used to yell at her for "making faces" in class. After the diagnosis, her teachers were a lot more understanding.

We were OK until about 10th grade when her tics got a lot worse and she developed a particularly painful vocal tic. We went back to the neurologist who wanted to put her on medication, but DD refused. The tics got better after about 9 months of so and she seems to be significantly better now (she's 18). However, they are still there, and according to her neurologist, they will never really go away. Anxiety (and she is very anxious and OCD, which often goes along with the Tourette's) has always made the tics worse.

 

[TaraPA]

keti - you might want to make an appointment with a ped neurologist now - even if you're not sure how you want to proceed - because they are extremely difficult to get into (around here anyway). We only have 2 in our area, that travel here from larger hospitals, and we had an 8-month wait for the appointment.

 

[Mish]

My son who just turned 12 has motor tics from when he was little. Just last year it was so bad, vocal and motor. He has tourettes syndrome. He has always been on medication which helped until last year when they got worse. 2 months ago the doctor changed his medication to a patch and it is amazing he is hardly having any tic at all. Michelle

 

["Got Disney"]

Both my boys and DH have tourettes...my one son who is 17 started at age 6...with about 3 different tics..one with the jaw...and OCD on top of it. We Started him on anti anxiety medicine because he had a tooth pulled and the dentist put the gauze in his mouth and from than on for over a year he could not function without gobs of gauze in his mouth...when you would try to take it out he would have a panic attack because he became obsessed with the gauze...saw a psychiatrist once a month for meds and every week with a psychologist that helped him learn to deal with the tics and OCD...within 2 years he was off meds completely and learned how to deal with his tics. No more gauze

My other son has touretts, ADHD and OCD....he had many tics when he was younger...he is 14. One month he would have 4-5 different tics than 2 would change into another new tic....but he dealt with it just fine and so did his friends and classmates....

My 14 y.0 is on meds for his ADHD but for nothing else....still has some tics and definitely OCD...and to top it off he is a teenager ....

it is possible that somewhere in your family history someone had touretts and did not even know what it was....maybe thought it was anxiety or bad habits.

You should for sure go and find out because as the OP mentioned other things can go along with it like the OCD and ADHD.....there is no real test but they will ask you what is happening and do a painless EEG and if it turns out that that is what she has better to know than not to know...

If it is touretts also you will notice at home it being worse....they tend to hold back a lot in school and when they get home they let it all come out. My boys use to say that the tics felt good at home...got rid of a lot of stress...my sons new tic is humming music in class....but that's better than the whistling he use to do...

if you have any questions please feel free to PM me....and by the way watching TV with the 3 of them, DH and the boys is like a movie in itself...all 3 of them tic-ing away...DH says well at least they only Tic and not tock

 

["Got Disney"]

I`m freaking out, we`ve just come back from our vacation, and DD started with eye rolling last night! This really scares me, now it`s blinking and some strange eye rolling, I thought that things were getting better, but it seems I was hoping for no reason! She actually WAS better for a few days, but now it it awful again, even worse than ever. HELP!

by the way my 14 y.o did both of these together also....teachers use to think it was him not paying attention in class or rolling his eyes at them...he had a sub once that did not know of his touretts and she put him out of the class....when she found out why he did it she felt incredibly bad....my son however had no problem with it at all because it was nice out and he got to sit outside

He still does both of these when he gets stressed or has had a busy day. He still blinks also but not very much anymore....his main one is the nail biting....same with DH...DH picks and bites his nails and grunts and clears his throat and sniffles all the time....him i want to smack but after 31 years of marriage its not the tics that make me want to slap him lol

 

[keti]

Thank you all...It has been better in the last few days, eye rolling stopped, but blinking didn`t. I took her to the eye specialist (to start from somewhere!), we`re now using some eye drops ang going to another check in a few days...Then, I will take her to child neurologist (with a clear ophtalmologist finding) if the things don`t get better. Do you think that I should take her to kindergarten or not (it all started when she first got there, and she doesn`t like it, I think!)? I am affraid that it might get worse. We have a strange situation, the tics are actually worse outside than at home, the worst when there are some other kids (social issue?). I hope for the best, but sometimes I really feel bad. I think that she can tell...Anyway, I`ll keep posting...

 

["Got Disney"]

Thank you all...It has been better in the last few days, eye rolling stopped, but blinking didn`t. I took her to the eye specialist (to start from somewhere!), we`re now using some eye drops ang going to another check in a few days...Then, I will take her to child neurologist (with a clear ophtalmologist finding) if the things don`t get better. Do you think that I should take her to kindergarten or not (it all started when she first got there, and she doesn`t like it, I think!)? I am affraid that it might get worse. We have a strange situation, the tics are actually worse outside than at home, the worst when there are some other kids (social issue?). I hope for the best, but sometimes I really feel bad. I think that she can tell...Anyway, I`ll keep posting...

I would keep her in school, and it may just be a coincidence that they started at the same time, and since she just started doing this, it may be that she has some normal kindergarten anxiety that is coming out in the form of tics just like it started with my boys, or at least thats when we first noticed it...be sure to just let the teacher know that she has these tics. I know it is hard not to freak out but you will after awhile if they stay get use to it and so will your child and their friends.

My boys always told there friends that they could not help the tics and that sometimes they come and go and change to new ones....there friends were like ..ok cool...and they would move on.

Another time when a sub teacher was in the class my son was whistling while she was reading a book to the students as they all sat on the floor...she asked who was doing the whistling and the whole class turned and pointed at Michael....he started giggling because of course many times they are doing it without even being aware they are doing it...

The class started telling her that he had touretts...although the name was not said right because they were in 1st grade......but they told her that he could not help it and told her about the other things he does....

See I never made a big deal out of them and so he does not...neither of my boys do....it is what it is...some months they are more tic free than others and they have a few or more at a time....when he had his neck throwing he would get a neck ache so we always went to the chiropractor. Going to the chiropractor also helped with the tics...he still goes to this day.

I know its hard not to get anxious about it...good idea to rule out her eyes....but keep in mind she also had other tics that were not related to her eyes like the lip smacking and smelling of fingers.....

As for the hereditary part....DH didnt even know he had touretts or anything about it. His mom has many tics but they always said it was caused by nervousness....well I am a nurse and when I met my DH over 30 years ago and met his mom I asked him about this and he had no clew what I was asking. I told him that I think his mom had this .....and him also....well turns out she did and not just that but her sisters daughter had the same tics...

I started digging in his family history because if we were going to have children I wanted to see if that was it....and it was....also found many other relatives had these so called nervous twitches....

Also to let you know that when my one son had had this problem with his OCD...the one with the gauze....I went on some anti anxiety medicine not because of his tics but because I was not sleeping worrying night after night that he would choke on all that gauze why he was sleeping...he looked like a chip monk no kidding.........he also had the gauze in his mouth in school...he had so much he could hardly talk...his friends got so use to it and didnt faze them at all.

A good thing to do is to keep a chart and write down when she starts a new tic and how many days /weeks it lasts..and how often and triggers...ask her if she notices that she is doing them and if they relax her or hurt her.....and if she can tell when she has them the most. Dont make it a serious chat...just make it a normal chat why having cookies or something....than you can bring it to the Nero with you.They will want you to have this info when you go in.

There are many levels of Tourettes if that is what is determined...most cases are mild to very mild. And if it is also keep an eye out for ADHD and OCD....I am not saying any of this to freak you out...just to help you be informed
keep us informed.

 

[keti]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";39650292]....I am not saying any of this to freak you out...just to help you be informed
keep us informed.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, "Got Disney" for all your advice...it really helped a lot! It`s much easier when you can hear about other people`s similar experience. So, You really dont`t freak me out (my DD does ), You`re helping me!

 

[TaraPA]

keti, hang in there! It's easy for all of us who've been dealing with this for years to say "don't worry, don't call attention to it, it will be ok" but we forget how anxious we all were at the beginning too. Well, I shouldn't speak for others, but I was a wreck! I took me a long time, years, to just stop worrying. It took that long for me to realize he can NOT stop doing it. I was always bringing it to his attention, telling him to just stop, feeling embarrassed, etc. You will get to this point too!

My DS13 has been tic-ing for years (I've posted a lot on this thread in prior years), and he didn't have one for the last few weeks. On Thursday I noticed one - he's snapping his jaw (he has A LOT of jaw tics) - but his teeth are hitting together so it makes a noise. I didn't say a word the whole day, then on Friday all I said was (with a smile) - "I think this is your new tic." He laughed & said "yeah I guess so!" And that was the end of it. He's been doing it every few minutes but we all just ignore it. It is what it is!

 

[CathrynRose]

I saw this thread pop up again, and figured I may as well post.

Currently my son who used to have tics, is now 15 1/2 and totally tic free.

Lots of these tics DO go away. Hang in there, OP.

 

[JanetRose]

my daughter had some when she was younger - i never mentioned anything about them to her and she eventually stopped.

 

[keti]

We are back in k-garten, she seems fine about it, but the tics are still there...Something has changed though - my child actually HAS some vision problems ...I was completely shocked! I expected to hear that everything was fine, but now we are having eye-glasses! Anyway, I still think that, if not all, some of the eye-movements are tics, I`ll just wait and see if it stops now that we`ve corrected her vision. She still has a lot of lip licking, scratching and hand smelling and those surely are tics...I don`t know, I am a bit more relaxed about it now, she seems completely OK, so, I hope for the best . The thing that bothers me the most are the looks of other children and their parents (our so called friends!), I feel embarrassed and I still can`t help it !

 

["Got Disney"]

We are back in k-garten, she seems fine about it, but the tics are still there...Something has changed though - my child actually HAS some vision problems ...I was completely shocked! I expected to hear that everything was fine, but now we are having eye-glasses! Anyway, I still think that, if not all, some of the eye-movements are tics, I`ll just wait and see if it stops now that we`ve corrected her vision. She still has a lot of lip licking, scratching and hand smelling and those surely are tics...I don`t know, I am a bit more relaxed about it now, she seems completely OK, so, I hope for the best . The thing that bothers me the most are the looks of other children and their parents (our so called friends!), I feel embarrassed and I still can`t help it !

That was how I felt when parents would look at my son with the gauze in his mouth but soon realized that they had no idea why...but once told why it was no longer an issue.

You would be surprised to know how many kids have tics....just look at the number of us on this board. If your child does not make a big deal out of them than her friends wont either...

Dont beat yourself up for how your feeling ...it is just as new to them as it is to you....just explain to the parents so they understand that they are just tics and she has no control over them....everything about her is still the same. And when you mention that she might have touretts...be sure to add in that she does NOT! have the one that causes people to swear....that is very rare....see it seems that is the first thing folks think of when they hear the word Tourette Syndrome. I never made a big deal out of it and just would say...no big deal...and it made them(friends/parents) more comfortable....for us it is no big deal...for my kids no big deal....but at first it was my babies and they had this and it made me feel sad for them...when they never felt a bit of sadness for themselves....half the time when they were tic-ing they didnt ever realizre they were doing it.

Find out if this is what it is because if you dont you cant start to deal with it the right way....she is doing this for a reason...and it is not because of her eyes....


I would not wait to see what happens I would take her to the Nerologist to have checked out....you will want to rule out anything else. We are not Docs here and can only tell you what we feel it could be...or not be. Do it and get it done with.

I look at it this way.....My family all has touretts ,OCD ADHD, I have Epilepcy, DH has touretts and Hep C....we feel blessed every day that this is all we have wrong with us and can live a normal life.....it could be a lot worse.

Lots of hugs and blessings your way..you are not alone!

 

[keti]

Thanks for the support, "Got Disney", it means a lot to me!

 

[keti]

Hi, how are you all?Are things getting better?We are fine at the moment,but you know how it is - you cannot be sure if the tics are really gone forever...