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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Habits/repetitive movements and noises. My 5 year old son

26 replies

babypup · 17/09/2014 08:52

Hi everyone,

I have posted here before about my son who turned 5 in April. But things seem to have taken a further development so I'm back looking for any other advice or shared experiences :(

When he turned 4 he developed a habit of over-blinking and squinting, mainly when watching TV (eye test fine) and if nervous/tired/bored. So, we recognised it as a Tic following a GP appointment. It went away in the July, only to return in the Nov of 2013 and it has come and gone since then, so around 18 months or so now but not constant. The length of time has worried me.

In the past few days I have noticed he has now started to make a subtle noise in his throat when watching TV or is nervous/bored etc so same pattern as before, but still has the blinking. So one has not replaced the other, they are both present currently.

I'm getting really concerned and frightened that we may be dealing with more than something transient/habitual as the first tic has never really gone away, and he has now added in another at the same time. I'm worried this might be the start of something more severe, like Tourettes syndrome.

Can anybody offer any experience on these tics and how long they have lasted/if your child ever had more than one at a time? This is really getting me down as watching new tics unfold is so scary, I'm sure he is noticing himself now and wondering why he does these things, despite the fact we have never commented to him.

We do have a Paeditrician appointment booked for early October, but I tend to find the experience of other Mum's is more valuable sometimes!

xxx

OP posts:

CrumblyMumbly · 17/09/2014 09:09

Watching with interest. My nearly 4yo dd had a virus for a while and had a tickly cough. This has now gone but she is also making a throat clearing/grunt noise in same instances as yours or sometimes when quite relaxed. I am kind of hoping it will pass (as it does drive me mad). I find when she is busy playing or distracted she doesn't do it. Sorry no advice I'm afraid.

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 09:18

Hi CrumblyMumbly,

Thanks for replying. Yes, my son is the same, if distracted and playing he does neither, seems to be the same pattern. x

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Gatekeeper · 17/09/2014 09:25

When ds was about 5/6 we noticed that he was blinking and screwing his eyes up like you describe . After a few weeks I took him to the optician where his eyesight was pronounced perfect. It continued for some time, tailed off, stopped and began again and also he began twitching his nose. I started to think all sorts and took him to GP who couldn't find anything wrong.

He is ten now and has outgrown this stage, which I think all it is. My daughter at a similar age used to sniff her fingers all the time!

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 09:29

Thanks Gatekeeper. I am hoping these are just going to phase out too, if only we had a crystal ball when it came to our kids. Can't help wondering if it's something more long-term now :( xx

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CrumblyMumbly · 17/09/2014 09:31

Have they mentioned that he is doing it at school? It doesn't seem to be too unusual. I'm trying to ignore it but older relatives seem to comment on it - grrr. Treatment seems to be to get the child to recognise when tic is coming and maybe take a deep breath or soft swallow instead but that is only if tic is seriously affecting them? Just tried that with my dd which resulted in over the top heavy breathing...sigh

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 09:38

Hi CrumblyMumbly,

When his blinking tic first appeared last May/June/July the pre-school noticed it yes, it was quite alarming at it's worst. They mainly noticed it at story time, when he was sitting still, or if they were watching something on the smart board. When is reared this July (coinciding with house move) it was so noticeable and everybody commented, but it calmed down again and is now only at the times we discussed, TV, boredom.

My advice so far is not to comment. If Josh is made aware of it it seems to get worse as he focusses on it (childminder commented to him a few times which made me really angry as I don't want to make him too self aware) x

OP posts:

isthisme · 17/09/2014 09:46

DD (9) had this last year, a sort of low ‘hum’ which she did several times a minute, very noticeable when passive, reading watching TV etc.
She had never had any previous tic form. It actually started to drive me a bit nuts, and I am sure I made it worse by asking her why she was doing it (she had no idea she was doing it) and drawing attention to it, when I read up about it and realised she had no control I stopped mentioning it and felt bad!

Anyway if I think back it lasted for about 4-6 months- one day I notice it had stopped, like you I was worried – but if it is any help it did go eventually.
I would love to know what caused it. At the time I was treating her for a verruca with a particular ointment (magnesium something), I did I recall finding some possible link and it did seem to coincide with applying this to her foot, I just don’t know.

CrumblyMumbly · 17/09/2014 09:54

That's interesting - I will try very hard not to mention it and say same to my family. babypup - don't know if you meant to mention your son's name?

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 09:56

Yes, talking about it seems to make it worse in our house, so I hope that helps for you too. Woops, thanks for pointing that out...not that it matters I guess, most people who know him know he does these things anyway xx

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zoemaguire · 17/09/2014 09:57

A long shot, but he isn't on montelukast by any chance? Our ds started doing this, it was v alarming, but turned out it was a side effect of the drug. Went away when he stopped taking it (luckily at the point when his lungs could do without it anyway).

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 10:00

Hi Zoemaguire, thanks for posting. He isn't on any medication so we have been unable to link it to anything specific so far

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AnathemaIsANiceNameForAGirl · 17/09/2014 10:09

DS used to make a really annoying noise in his throat / nose. I can't actually remember the noise but I do remember how irritating it was! IIRC he had two "bouts" of it around the age of 4-5, both times following a cold. Think it lasted a couple of weeks each time. He would do it without realising, normally when watching TV or falling asleep.

Fortunately it went away on its own, all DP and I did was resolve to try not to mention it to him for fear of it becoming A Thing, iyswim? Was hard not to say anything though because it was soooooo irritating

MyFabulousBoys · 17/09/2014 10:16

Try not to worry too much. DS has multiple tic disorder (Tourette's by another name). It was horrifying for us at first. School was very hard for him due to his other sen and it sent his tics into overdrive. In 15 yrs I have only ever seen my husband cry three times and they were all in the week that his tics escalated so much he couldn't walk without wobbling. That was 2 years ago. At the moment they are silent. They were silent last year for 8months but recurred at Xmas with an innocuous head flick. He had a week in the summer when they were very active eyebrow raising with an eye roll and face pull. Always makes my heart ache because he is much more aware of them now.

We contacted Tourette's Action Uk. They are very helpful and gave us a list of consultants they recommend who have extensive knowledge of tics. We waited for a year to see one but it was the best thing because now we have good contacts if we ever need to try to teach habit reversal therapy. Also we wanted to get anything serious ruled out as we were concerned at their severity for a while.

Tiredness, stress, illness all make them worse and appear. I use them as a barometer of his stress levels!

Please don't mention them to him unless he brings them up. Often the kids aren't aware they are ticcing. Don't let anyone mention them and also as they are very suggestible they often cause a temporary increase in frequency. Make sure he can't be told off the tic. Anyone who deals with him needs to be briefed.

They are incredibly upsetting to see as a parent but try not to let that show.

Good luck. It gets easier and they do come and go.

You can pm me if you would like to chat further.

isthisme · 17/09/2014 10:24

Has he just started school? DD's started when she was a bit stressed at School (as well as the ointment, so I never did work it out), it could have been that. I was really concerned at the time.

Fast forward to next year I am sure it will be a distant memory.

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 10:29

Yes, he started school August 18th and seems to be settling in great, but you never know what they are thinking deep down, it's a big adjustment/lots of new routines for him etc. I know change etc does flare them up (house move in July caused a massive episode of blinking) but other times they flare up anyway, it's strange. I had almost come to term with the blinking being 'just his thing, his way of expressing emotions albeit positive or negative', but this recent addition of a vocal noise alongside the blinking is really worrying me now :( x

OP posts:

trulybadlydeeply · 17/09/2014 10:29

I agree with those who say not to comment if at all possible. I had an eye blinking twitch at a similar age, and was told by my Dad that "people will think you are the village idiot". that inevitably didn't help and made the tic worse.

As I have grown up have had a variety of tics. Current, long term ones are a movement/twitch at the side of my mouth, and a weird shoulder movement one. As I grew up I learnt to largely control them, or at least control when I do them, and although they are there, they are a very minor part of my life.

HiImBarryScott · 17/09/2014 10:46

My DS (age 9) has had a number of tics since he was about 5. He seems to get one then it goes away and a different one starts. So far we've had head flicking, swallowing, funny throat noise, lip curling and eye blinking. Sometimes he doesn't have one for months and he definitely does them more when he's tired or stressed - he is generally quite highly strung. I think they have decreased a bit as he's got older though.

In my experience, pointing it out or commenting on it seems to make it worse. He can't control it and gets upset about it. Apparently it's very common and many children will grow out of it (according to my google research and chats with GPS anyway!)

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 10:52

Thanks for your post HiI'mBarryScott. Has your son ever had two on the go at once? It's this layering of one tic on top of another that is worrying me most, not sure if that somehow indicates a more serious issue or is just how these things can go?

OP posts:

HiImBarryScott · 17/09/2014 12:18

So far it seems to be just one at a time for my son. It is upsetting to see isn't it? I used to worry if his friends would laugh at him, but they've all been really accepting about it so far.

Good luck at the paediatrician.

JetsAndSugar · 17/09/2014 12:27

My 6yo has moved through assorted nervous tics since he was about 4. If he stops one, he starts on another.

It helped to talk about feelings. "I noticed that when you are feeling worried, you make a clicking noise in your throat." "Do you need a cuddle?" "You are chewing your cheeks, what worries are in your head?"

In a way it is helpful, he seems self confident so the nervous tic helps us to identify that he is struggling even though everything else about him says otherwise. Sometimes he just comes in for a cuddle. Increasingly he recognises himself that the tic is a symptom of negative thought patterns and self corrects, which is an extremely useful life skill.

Original poster

babypup · 17/09/2014 13:12

Thanks JetsAndSugar, it's good to hear from others who understand. I agree, anxiety seems to have an impact on tics, sometimes he seems so relaxed and happy on the surface though so it's hard to understand what can be stressing him out if he has a flare up with no identifiable root cause. Has your child ever had more than one tic present at the same time?

OP posts:

bringbackfonzi · 17/09/2014 22:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CorporateRockWhore · 17/09/2014 22:07

DD has had quite a few of these over the years - she's 4.

Sniffing, sticking her tongue out, the latest is repeating a phrase under her breath every few seconds; when she is distracted or playing she doesn't do them though, only when she is bored or doing nothing much.

I've never felt concerned about them, they all pass in a few months. She's fine in every other way so I've never worried; maybe I actually should have though?!

Original poster

babypup · 18/09/2014 08:54

Thanks for your posts bringbackfonzi and CorporateRockWhore, it's comforting to know we are all not alone with this. May I ask, bringbackfonzi, does your daughter have a combination of vocal an motor tics at the same time? How does she cope with school, do people notice and comment? x

OP posts:

bringbackfonzi · 18/09/2014 13:45

Hi babypup, I'm trying to pm you but can't work out how to do it.

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