Son ( 7 ) has started making a strange sound.

[mrstinsle]

Over the Christmas period, my son has been making a strange sound, normally when watching tv or having some downtime.

It's like an ahhh sound,
It's very subtle but I can hear it and I'm sure it will be heard when he's back at school if it carries on.

He's had a cold but I don't believe it's related to that. I've asked him about it, I'm not sure he knows that he's doing it. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar or can suggest anything to make it stop?

He been very full on these last two weeks, out of sorts as not at school, football has not been on and when it has it's been cancelled due to the weather and his behaviour and attitude has been difficult despite us sticking to early nights at bedtime.

I just feel worried about him 😔

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm not going to mention it again and hopefully it will go away.

I'm wondering if it's anything to do with him being out of routine. He normally goes to sports clubs/camps in the holidays, he's a very social kid and I find they help with his boredom and burning his energy off.

Somethings niggling me that it's related to this, if that's possible 🤷‍♀️

My DD went through a phase of sniffing. It drove me mad but it was clear she couldn't help it. We stopped mentioning it and she stopped doing it 🤷🏻‍♀️

My son has had a few tic type things over the years - usually last a couple of months the clear up. Worse when stressed/tired. They've ranged from blinking to making wierd kind of clearing throat noises. Think just behavioural tics, but I was really worried about more serious things. My son also v high energy.

It's v difficult but actively ignoring is best thing to do. I remember when I was similar age going through phase of making a wierd humming noise...

Sounds like a tic, I think 7 is the peak age for developing them. They are common with ASD but you don't have to have ASD to develop them. They're often related to anxiety or stressful periods too.
They tend to just go away by themselves, I expect when he gets back to his usual routine you won't notice it any more.

He won't be the only child in the class making noises, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Prime time to develop a tic, nothing to worry about most come and go and are not an issue. DD has a motor one when she is stressed which can cause aches and pain if she has a tic attack but a quiet verbal one I wouldnt worry about.

Ignore it.
I did a weird thing where I’d sort of open my eyes really wide and almost bulge them. It was stress related.
My parents picked me up on it and told me it was strange and I’ll never forget a teacher taking me to one side and telling me younger children would be afraid of me if I carried on.
I was aware I was doing it, but couldn’t stop.

I’m sure that being conscious of it made it last much longer. Until into my early teens if I remember…..

I can sort of feel like I want to do it now, thinking about it. It’s a strange sort of momentary relief from mental stress.

I agree it might be a transient tic of some sort. Not uncommon at this age. My 14 year old has Tourettes and occasionally vocal tics. I talk alot with him about his tics when they happen because I want to completely normalise it and not make him feel ashamed but that might not a tack to take if it is going to just be a temporary thing with your son- especially as the child being aware of it tends to make it happen more. DS has a tourettes diagnosis but that took years because tics are so common during developmental phases. His just lasted and changed and continued on. His tics are really interesting at times. Although he had a head jerking one that caused him pain which wasn't fun.

I'd ignore for now, keep an eye out on any others that develop. DS tends to tic mostly when stressed so certainly worth keeping and eye on his stress levels or if anything is making him anxious.

That's an awful thing your teacher (and parents) did to you. I am sorry.

Could it be a verbal tic perhaps?

It sounds like a tic.. my dd had a coughing one then a squeaking noise one at around age 8-10. She doesn't do it now as a teen. My younger has periods of pronounced blinking at times. In both cases we were told magnesium deficiency and manesium supplements certainly helped. We get the chewable gummies from Amazon.

tics are really common at this age and tend to show up more when kids are watching tv-don’t know if it’s the relaxation or stimulation from
the screen.
Try not to be alarmed if he develops more-sometimes they can escalate quite rapidly but tend to disappear /quieten down again.
Best to ignore or try to gently distract.

Oh no
Now I've just tried doing it, and think I want to do it all the time 😂

I had one when I was about 8-10 (didn’t last two years but I can’t remember the exact age I was), like a sort of clearing throat and saying mmm. I remember I couldn’t stop myself and my mother would go on about it and I knew it was weird. I just made an effort to stop and I did.
My son has one a few months ago, kind of like mine but I didn’t mention it and it stopped (he was about 5.5). Lately he’s been doing a spinning hand motion (fast like sonic he said), and I stopped mentioning it and that’s stopped as well. I think they’ll come and go

Our son has developed one that makes a tut sound with his tongue at the roof of his mouth. It’s really annoying,he does it when on a screen and he’s 12, and I really hope it stops soon!

My DS6 makes subtle strange quiet noises when he has bad coughs or tonsillitis. It'll probably go away on its own I wouldn't make too much of a thing about it

Back to school routine will probably help him!

I was an au pair to a girl who had an audible tic when she relaxed. It lasted a few months then went.

My 7yo DD started sucking her lips audibly as a way to release stress. I'm not sure if she's done it at school. It's lessening now overall but has made a reappearance the past couple of days which I assume is related to worries re going back to school.

My son who is autistic does a throat clearing sound and a ugh sound - in his case it's when he is stimming (pacing repetitively) and i guess is a tic. He only does it when stimming so not when eating dinner or outside.

But my daughter who is neurotypical used to do a face stretching action repeatedly when she was around 8/9 - it was just a little tic that she grew out of. I did point it out at the time and it got worse so I stopped mentioning it and it eventually stopped x

Just a tic I'd say. Very common, my DS had one where he scrunched up his eyes. Generally they grow out of them. We were told that mentioning them is counter productive.