Nearly 8 year old with repetitive habits like lip playing and humming

[Sweetdreamsbeautifulnightmare]

My nearly 8 year old keeps doing odd things that I assume are like little habits he can’t help! The latest one is playing with his bottom lip. Like curling it up and playing with it! He does this obsessively when watching tv or reading. When he’s busy playing with friends he doesn’t do this so much but it’s becoming a lot!

Before that it was coughing or snorting or humming all the time . I know ignoring is probably best but my god it’s annoying! I sometimes give him a fidget toy to play with but that ends up in his mouth instead! I also find him with the end of the remote in his mouth too!

He’s quite grown up for his age in comparison to his friends it seems as well as being taller. He eats well, is doing great at school and isn’t showing any other issues apart from sleeping badly but that’s another story!

Anyone else experienced similar?

If he’s stimming abd has poor sleep I would normally suggest talking to his Teacher but as they’re on Summer break that’s not really possible at the moment although it might be worth talking to them when he’s been back for a month?

Have the School ever raised any issues at all?

Sounds like tics to me, they're quite common at this age. Being tired can make them worse. They normally go within a year, if not see a doctor. DS had them around this age, he was later diagnosed with ASD but I know other kids who have had then and not had ASD.

His teachers say he’s amazing! Gets fabulous reports and over achieving at all subjects which I was so pleased with. I did wonder about tics too. He’s always slept badly, but doesn’t ever seem tired!

Ok so if he’s behaving really well at school he could be masking or he could genuinely be doing well.

One way to check is to do this simple progress checker.

Let us know how you get on