To ask about your experience with children and tics?

[Lalala89]

Typical jumping to conclusions mum here but I would just like to ask about your experiences with the above.

My 7 year old ds - sweetest most loving boy who is very sporty has all of a sudden over the last couple of weeks started opening his mouth very wide and then shutting it quickly. I didn't think much of it until my brother- who lives with me asked why he does it.

After that I started to look out for it. I noticed he did it 3/4 times an hour (could of been a couple more as I wasn't staring at him.) When asked about it, it was like he didn't even realize he was doing it.

Of course I did the stupid thing of googling it and it was article after article about tourettes/tics starting at age 6/7 which he is. It mentioned in the article about it starting with face tics that eventually develop into more. I now remember a couple of years ago he used to blink alot for a couple of months ago that I thought he needed glasses but then it stopped and I hadn't thought if it since.

I realize I am probably over worrying and there are far worse things going on. I've just had a tough life and I finally feel like for the first time in my life I'm in a good place and always feel like I'm expecting something bad to happen so am probably over worrying.

I love my son more than anything - do you have any experiences you can share with me?

Thank you in advance

Our son had various tics and it all stopped when he hit puberty.

Seriously how do people keep from losing their minds? My daughter and I are in this horrible dynamic where I ignore the tic and then can't take it anymore and openly shout at her. She obviously cries, and round and round we go, both feeling terrible. How do you guys bite your tongues on the verbal tics? My house sounds like a barnyard in the morning. I feel like a "good" mom would be able to take it and not make the situation a million times worse. I guess at the root of it is that being around her makes me sad, no matter how much I tell myself there are worse issues and she's so much more than the tic.

If her tic is bothering you then you need to remove yourself to a place where you can’t hear it/see it. You’re the adult. She can’t help having a tic. Shouting at her and making her cry will only make her feel ashamed and self-conscious and it will damage your relationship.

I think you should apologise to her for treating her badly over something that is not her fault and try to make a fresh start.

It might be a tic, but it might also be worth mentioning next time you go to the dentist, just to rule out a physical cause. He can check that's it's opening and closing as it should be.

I'd managed to get my jaw slightly out of alignment (lots of playing a wind instrument at a funny angle apparently!), and opening it made it feel better because it would 'pop' back when it was wide open. It wasn't a conscious thing though, and it wasn't really sore the rest of the time, but did become a bit of a habit.

Hello! Sorry I haven't read the full thread, but most of it.

Have you considered stereotypies? My son does a weird thing with his mouth, he also does hand wringing and hand flapping at times. It only happens when he's really excited or really happy. Sometimes also after a long day of school. I mention this because you said it happened a lot when you were reading to him on bed. My son's stereotypies are strong then because he's happy and tired and I think he finds them soothing as he goes to bed.

My DS likes his stereotypies and because they r generally confined to when hes excited/happy, I don't mind them - I just am hoping he'll grow out of them before secondary school as his friends may tease him if not ()

My daughter had a couple of tics at around age 10-11, eye rolling, and vocal. It is really hard not to get annoyed andfrustrated by them, and to ignore. For us magnesium supplements made a huge and almost immediate difference, we used the well kids liquid one. She doesn't do it now as a teenager.

My daughter (10 last week) has Tourette’s. It took 3 years to get her seen by CAMHS and she’s waiting some therapy to help deal with her tics. I know that in some children, tics can go away after a while (transient tics, that is) but DD has had them (albeit constantly changing/developing) since she was 5. She doesn’t take medication but it will have to be considered at some point, I think, as the tics are starting to affect her school work a bit. She still does loads of dance, plays a number of instruments and does lots of drama - she’s doesn’t tic as much when playing/singing/performing!
It’s reassuring to see others going through the same- you can feel very on your own when you don’t know anyone else with Tourette’s!
I know that’s not very relevant to your OP, sorry, but just wanted to jump on to say don’t worry if it does turn out to be TS. Sending my best wishes!

Obviously it’s not right to treat her badly, hence asking for help and advice. It came from a place of deep Shame, not “look at my fantastic parenting.” 😌 Wow, 3 years is ages to wait 😬😬 definitely reassuring to share with others as I don’t know anyone with kids who tic in real life. Allikane, can I ask if people at school comment/how she explains it to people, if at all?

For us, there are tics in the family so I don’t think it’s stereotypies/other issues...but who knows...

taykitty20 She has been feeling more and more conscious of other people’s reactions. Although she has always loved school up until now, we’ve had the ‘I hate school’ or ‘I’m not going’ meltdowns recently. I think it’s because she’s more aware of the reactions of others, for example, the girl she sits next to rolls her eyes when DD tics, and some of them ask constantly why she does it (some in a nice way, some not so much.). We’ve had to go into school to speak to the head, who has been great, but DD is adamant she doesn’t want everyone to be told (I really think it would be better for her if they did know, as they may be more understanding). Her best friends never even really notice/ she’s done the ‘ticcing ’ thing for so long it’s just a normal part of who she is. She has only told a handful of her friends.

@taykitty20 you know what, this is going to sound harsh, but you've got to cut that out. Shouting is all about you, expressing how you feel about her tics: nothing about you shouting helps her, or is good for her. The calmer the environment, the less stress, the less tics.

I know it can be annoying as fuck; I really do. But you just can't shout at a kid for something they cannot help doing.

Of course you can't shout at them. Hence asking what is it you guys do, as in, in the moment, to keep yourself from getting irritated/expressing that/learn to tune it out/let it go. I'm not looking for anyone to tell me it's ok--of course it's not ok, I don't think shouting is fantastic regardless of tics-but I'm wondering if people who have been dealing with it for longer, or plain have a longer fuse, have any tips. Alli, that must be hard. I know everyone has to deal with something, at some point, etc, but it's hard watching them struggle and I suspect at your daughter's age the friendship stuff all gets more complicated anyway... Hope it's on the up x

I don't think there's a magical answer except you have to choose not to in the moment. That's not really helpful is it!? But it's like anything else: you would never shout at your boss or a colleague or someone on the till at Tesco, so you do have control of your feelings.

True. I think bc it’s so much more personal and comes from a place of sadness and frustration, not actually anger. But obviously the kid bring shouted at doesn’t know that, they just feel shit :/

I find covering my feelings with a bit of lovebombing helps

Hi Taykitty, sorry you’re finding it a bit stressful.

My DD is 8 and has been ticcing since the time she started school, age almost 4. Strangely, it happens the most when she is absorbed in reading aloud to an adult when she pulls strange faces, kind of stretching out her mouth, hard to explain but looks odd to an observer! Also she went through a phase of shaking her head several times at a fast speed.

I do sympathise with you about how hard it is not to say anything. Especially as she performs in dance shows and the dance teacher pointedly tells them all to be mindful of how they appear to the audience, need to smile and focus on the audience, Ive had to try talk to her about trying to focus on what she’s doing and avoid repeatedly adjusting her hair band (the latest tic manifestation).

I do find I’m tuning out to it as time passes and hopefully you will too. I remain hopeful that my DD will grow out of it and there’s a good chance that your Dd will too.

Thanks summer; has she had vocal ones too? Those are the ones that get to me. We’ve had the mouth stretching too. Has it gotten worse or stayed consistent over time for your daughter? Nice to read other girls have it (tho sorry others are struggling too!) as everything I read speaks mostly to boys. X

Hi, those we have used to magnesium supplements, which one do you recommend?

Sorry, those who

We’ve used floradix as well as bath salt. No idea if it’s made a difference

We've been using Epsom Salt foot baths for nearly a week and I actually think it's making a bit of a difference! I'll google floradix, thanks.

This is my first post on here.
My 3 year old has recently developed what I think are tics it possibly Tourette’s.

She has been grunting/clearing throat since January this year following 3 lots on tonsillitis and coughs this has continued following them.

More recently in the last week or so she has developed a blinking which she does mainly when concentrating so if we are reading a story it’s worse.
She also sometimes but less often hums and she seems to of developed a slight stutter at the beginning of sentences but this isn’t all the time. She has also jerked a small number of times.

I don’t think she has noticed what she is doing and we haven’t mentioned it. We have an ENT app next week about her throat as her tonsils are enlarged (not infected). This all stemmed following her nasal flu spray in January.

I feel like the grunting is definitely worse after food and the blinking when she is relaxed or concentrating.

I feel really anxious about it all and she is due to start school in September.

Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks

Hi OP, how are things going for you and your son now? I cam across this thread as I was looking for information about tics. My ds has had frequent occurrence of shuddering and shivering over the last few weeks. I am so worried.

I did this exact thing when I was about 8, I had just started a new school. It lasted a year or so, my parents never really said anything about it. Weirdly I remember being in assembly and seeing another girl doing the same thing and thinking how weird it looked, and swearing I was going to stop! Appreciate it isn’t that easy for everyone. It’s weird because even now you reminding me of it has made me do it- it kind of feels like I’m stretching out those muscles and it feels quite nice, I can kind of see why I did it!