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Original poster

dd (6) doing strange gestural twitches with her hands and head - ocd / anxiety?

49 replies

imaginaryfriend · 24/02/2009 21:54

It may be nothing at all but after having spent the half term with dd I noticed that she's doing some strange gestures with her hands and her head. It seems to go in a pattern - 2 flicks of her right hand (in a John Inman 'I'm free!' kind of way), two twitches of her head to the left, then two twitches of her left hand. Sometimes it's more complex and goes on longer - for instance when I'm reading her bedtime story and she's sitting next to me, she seems to be twitching her hands and head almost constantly in some kind of rhythm.

I asked her, lightly, about it but she was very embarrassed to talk about it and said eventually something about 'the tickle monster' - she said she doesn't like it when something touches her. I did notice that on busy days out with lots of people around she was very wary about being touched or brushed past. But I can't see why she'd do it at home and when I'm reading a story for instance?

Anybody experienced similar? Any tips on how to handle it? Or not to handle it and expect it to disappear like so many of these weird developmental things do?

OP posts:
Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 24/02/2009 22:09

bump

OP posts:
SlartyBartFast · 24/02/2009 22:11

perhaps ignore would be the best answsser for the time being, my dc went through a phase of twitching her eyes.. but it did stop.. as a child i used to have to touch things 3 times >

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 24/02/2009 22:14

Yes, I had some odd things like that too when I was a child. I still do! But I am very anxious by nature and I wondered if this was a sign that dd was worried about something?

OP posts:
SlartyBartFast · 24/02/2009 22:18

i think it is jsut a habitual mannerism, can't answer about the anxiety
do you think she could be anxious?

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 24/02/2009 22:33

I don't think it is a habitual mannerism, it seems too compulsive somehow.

She's been generally quite anxious lately - nightmares and fears that her heart is beating too fast / she's going to die.

OP posts:
SlartyBartFast · 24/02/2009 22:39

oh dear

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 24/02/2009 22:49

Maybe it's her way of dealing with anxiety?

OP posts:
Tiggiwinkle · 24/02/2009 23:04

Could be an ocd symptom as you suggested. Any other problems?

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 25/02/2009 00:01

What kind of other problems? She's always been fairly 'intense' and obsessive about things. She gets terribly frustrated if she can't make, say, a drawing 'perfect.' I've got used to her character to be honest. Is there anything in particular I should look out for?

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ICANDOTHAT · 25/02/2009 18:54

This is really, really common in children. My ds twitches left eye and does a kind of Elvis lip twitch at the same time (very attractive). He also touches everything an equal number of times - really infuriating if it's a light switch When I asked him about it, he said he knew he was doing it, but didn't want to stop. It's a relatively new thing. I can also remember doing weird stuff when I was younger. I asked our GP about it and he told me categorically to ignore it and never mention it to my son again - said it would disappear eventually. He said it was not necessarily stress and usually a v. mild form of OCD and they will always grow out of it. Mt mate's son constantly cleared his throat for a whole year .... really annoying! Don't worry about it

hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 25/02/2009 20:01

Hi IF.

My dd does this too. She started showing nervous tics at the age of 4. She has had tics on and off for teh past two years, anything from a headshake, shoulderjerk, sniffing, noserubbing, throatclearing etc. More recently (since January) she has shown ocd style patterns to her movements - so she will rub her nose twice with her left hand, then twice with her right, then tap her head with her left hand and then with her right. Sometimes quite complex and long (well they seem long) rituals, sometimes just a few movements, but always teh same amount with each hand.
She is also very anxious, has been weepy in class over minor things such as her daddy not picking her up from school and a missing hairband.
She is struggeling a bit friendship wise at school at the moment, and in addition she dislikes large groups and playtimes (she feels most secure in small groups with someone telling them what to do)
She has in the past suffered from hairpulling (still does it ocassionally) and has bitten her fingernails and cuticles to stubs. (the tips of her fingers look awful and she makes them bleed on a daily basis)

I am putting it down to anxiety and am just concentrating on boosting her confidence as much as I can.
Other than that, I am just hoping she will outgrow it.

I am sorry, I appear to have given you all of dd's worries without actually helping you.
I guess I just wanted you to know you are not alone!

hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 25/02/2009 20:04

Dd too is very intense and very hard on herself. If she gets a word wrong on a spelling test (and they are giving her words like alphabet and elephant fgs) she will cry or get cross with herself.
As a baby/toddler she threw the most awful tantrums.
She is a picky eater and does not appear to need sleep.
I have got used to all of this and just put it down to 'her character', but she is much much harder work than her laid-back, easy-going, always smiling big brother.

Original poster
imaginaryfriend · 26/02/2009 12:15

hippi, my dd is small-fry next to yours!

She is intense though and often won't attempt to do something for the fear of not getting it perfectly right. She doesn't have tantrums though, rarely loses her temper, but does get very frustrated - if her friends say something wrong, i.e. her friend yesterday said 'summer is coming', dd has to 'correct' them 'no it's not summer, it's spring' and she gets very bothered by that kind of thing. She'll say to me on and off now that xxx said it was summer and actually it's spring. I always tell her to chill out and that it doesn't matter, we all make mistakes, but she seems unable to let it go.

The teacher told me yesterday that she always spends 10 minutes preparing for a task they have to do at school, so much so that she rarely has chance to complete it. I asked dd and she said it was because she wanted to get it 'perfect' in her mind before she actually did it!

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hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 26/02/2009 12:20

Hi IF,

dd does the 'correcting' thing too. She will spend ages telling me about things others have said wrong and how she has had to correct them.

I have probably made her sound much worse than she is - she will have good weeks/months where the tics subside adn she is more carefree. But at the moment she is going through a more anxious phase and the ticcing has become very noticeable again!

Your dd sounds lovely

troutpout · 26/02/2009 12:24

mmm yes
ds has been through patches of doing similar things
He has aspergers though...so it's linked with this....it is a compulsion but more to do with routines and obsessions.
I have found that each time it is better to let it run it's course. If i've tried to intervene it has generally switched to something else (usually worse!)

hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 26/02/2009 12:32

Hi troutpout, thanks for responding

We found out the perils of destraction early on. Dd used to bite her nails, we tried to stop her so instead she started pulling her hair out.
She still does this to a certain extent adn I have resigned myself to the fact she will never have the nice thick long flowing locks of her classmates but a thin and radically short bob!
Dd seems to get worse when there are changes afoot. The first set of tics started when the nursery staff began enthusing the children about their imminent move to 'big school'. Then she had another bout when moving from reception into Y1. (new teacher new room)
And now she is the worst I have ever seen her. She is still in Y1, but a lot of longstanding friendships are changing and it is causing dd anxiety.

I try not to make her aware of her habits, ignore them as much as I can, and I try to keep things at home as relaxed and as routine like as possible.
But she is just an anxious little bundle with lots of ticcy habits.
Oh the joy

hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 26/02/2009 12:32

destraction? I mean distraction!

Flightattendant27 · 26/02/2009 12:36

Sounds like anxiety/ OCD. I had it as a child and was always twitching, it was a way of keeping the bad thoughts away - I didn't really believe in monsters etc but they served a purpose for me in that I could 'control' them by my little habits, whereas the really scary stuff (mum being depressed, feeling very insecure) were well out of my control. It was a false security thing.

hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 26/02/2009 12:38

I hope it does not turn into full blown OCD. There was a thread on here some months ago from a mother whose dd was suffering really badly and I felt so sorry for her.

What did you find helped you Flight?

IF, I am sorry, I appear to be taking over your thread

Flightattendant27 · 26/02/2009 12:43

Well I am better now I'm grown up. So there is hope

My doing this stuff partly couincided with having a really bullying teacher for a year, each of my parents going away for the first time on courses (separately) and having to walk to school alone sometimes (quite a long way)

It was all just too much and I developed irrational fears about my parents dying, things like that. A calmer teacher who also had experience of anxiety and understood me, helped. She laid off with the pressure and accommodated some of my weird requirements. I was always asking for reassurance about silly things no one else cared about.

She was great.
I think mum going and talking to the school helped a bit. I just didn't feel very safe

I did have anxiety for years though and still do - but a bit of babying and lots of full on positive attention would have helped enormously. Sadly my mother got fed up with it and got stroppy. Which didn't help!

Flightattendant27 · 26/02/2009 12:43

I was 9 btw when it started.

upagumtree · 26/02/2009 12:47

Hi all, my ds2 has had patterns of complex tics for a couple of years now some of which have been similar in nature to previous posts on this thread, and some of which are quite upsetting to watch. He has only recently been diagnosed with tourettes. I'm not trying to scaremonger anyone,but its something to bare in mind.

hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 26/02/2009 12:48

Thanks

Will carry on going down the re-assuring and calming route, and not get stroppy.
Luckily her teacher both in reception and now in Y1 have been great so far, keeping me informed if she has had a bit of a wobble

I has a few nervous tics at teh age of 12, but only for about 6 months or so. (starting high school was what set me off) So dd starting so young adn being so much worse worries me.

Tiggiwinkle · 26/02/2009 12:49

hippi and IF, your DDs sound very similar to my DS. but like troutpout's DS he has Asperger's.

Perhaps if things get out of hand or more worrying it might be worth considering AS as a possibility?

hippipotamiHasLostFourPounds · 26/02/2009 12:50

upagumtree, tourettes is something I have in teh back of my mind.
How did you end up with that diagnosis? How old was your ds when diagnosed?
Because when dh took dd to the gp aged 5 about her then-still-new-tics they said nothing to worry about until she is 7, or possibly even older??