5yr old DD started to twitch

[whizzylala]

Hi all,
My 5 yr old DD has started to twitch ALOT with her left eye, sometimes just a blink, sometimes a full kind of facial twitch. She is doing it so much and I am pretty sure she doesn't realise most of the time. It has been a few weeks now.
I am not really saying anything and hoping it will go away but will it?? My Dad has a terrible twitch and I don't want her to be like him and have it for the rest of her life.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Whiz

None, just bumping.

it might go away, it might not - no-one can give you any kind of prognosis I'm afraid

of the children that are diagnosed with full-blown Tourette's (which I'm sure your dd doesn't have) by the time they're 18 a third will have no tics at all, a third will have some tics which don't cause them any problems and a third will still have significant difficulties caused by tics

the fact that your dad has a tic(s) suggests that she's inherited the trait, but it could just be a single tic for a few months or it could develop into somehting more

the best thing you can do is to ignore it as drawing attention to it will make it worse - tics really aren't a big deal (I have 3 who tic, one has TS, one has motor tic disorder and the other has vocal tic disorder so ticcing in this house is just a way of life!)

My dd started ticcing aged 3. At first just little facial tics, then she added a series of arm/shoulder tics, a leg tic and finally some love level humming, sniffing, throat clearing and now tongue-clicking tics. Sometimes she displayes only one or two of the above, sometimes she tics a range of the abovue continually and she will ahve weeks where there is not a tic in sight.

I have learnt to ignore it now, I think in the grand scheme of things it is no biggie. Obviously if they get worse / start to bother her I will try to deal with them but for now we leave it.
To be honest, I don't know what a doctor could do so have never really thought about seeking help.

She is 7 now and for the large part is not even aware she is ticcing. And none of her school friends have said anything or teased her either. I think so many children have odd little habits so she is not really that unique or noticeable (thankfully)

You are all so calm about it! We just had her nativity and she twitched constantly throughout the whole thing. Oh well, I know in the grand scheme it is minor but I suppose as it is new it is taking some getting used to.
Funny you mentioned humming Hippi - she has done that alot over the last year she hums constantly when she is happy and busy doing something, had not linked the two together though.
FIngers crossed it is a phase.
Whiz.

I certainly wasn't calm when ds started to do it - thought it was the worst thing that could possibly happen - but you just get used to it and it really, really isn't a big deal

Loads of kids have tics of one kind or another and for the vast majority they cause no problem whatsoever.

Just try to tune it out - you'll probably find that your dd's classmates don't even notice. Not one of ds's friends has ever said anything nasty to him about his tics - and they were quite extreme at one point. And the only person who's ever mentioned dd's obsessive throat-clearing and clicking is a supply teacher (dozy mare had been trying to make dd stop )

Oh no, I was not calm at all... And 18 months ago when teh tics were at their worst (she was ticcing almost constantly and very noticeably especially the elbow/shoulder tic which looked like a chicken trying to take off) I was terrified and convinced she was on the road to a bad case of tourettes
But, eventually the tics got less and then for a while disappeared alltogether. In the last few months they are starting to come back and I am a lot calmer this time round. I think it is always something she will suffer from and I have come to accept it for now.

my 7 yr old ds has stopped throat clearing (which he did for about 2 mths) but has replaced it by sniffing his fingers then opening his mouth really wide.i was watching him on sunday and, this sounds so awful, but he looks quite weird/odd . i am married to a gp who refuses to acknowledge or discuss with me (his are always the last to be treated..) is there anything i should be doing apart from recording his symptoms? extra tension as his 5 yr old brother has started to be really cute...

@whizzylala I know this is old but sounds a lot like what my son is going through (just developed a few days ago). Can I ask what happened?

How old is your son? My just turned 2 year old started with an eye twitch literally overnight. We went to the opticians and they said it'd go away as quickly as it started (it did). They said it's common particularly in boys and is just a habit that they get in to.

Thanks for the reply. Mine is nearly 6, and I’m hoping it just goes away!