Tics

[BumpleLeeds]

Hi,

My 5-year-old son has had some small tics on and off since he was a baby. Most of them we didn't realise were tics at the time (e.g. sniffing and blinking - which we thought were allergies). 18 months ago when he was still at nursery he suddenly developed a head nod tic, which was terrifying at the time. The doc said just to completely ignore it, which we did, and it stopped within a month.

Since then, we've had a bit of blinking on and off, but nothing worse. Then 6 weeks ago (2 weeks into Y1 at school) the head nodding started again - this time accompanied by a sniff and then the sniff disappeared but was replaced by a throat clearing noise. They're very slight (except on an evening when he's tired) and so most people wouldn't notice. I don't think any of the other children in his school has noticed (yet), but we've let his teacher know.

I've seen some older threads from parents who have children who have motor or vocal tics, but you never get to see what happened. I'd be really interesting in hearing from other parents of children who had or still have tics. How has this worked out in your lives over years. It would help me (and I'm sure there must be other mums out there dealing with this situation too - apparently 1 in 10 children get tics at some stage) to hear from parents who have had experience in this.

TIA x

I had a tic as a child, it's a odd one to describe, but it's a sort of hand shaking thing. My mum doesn't remember seeing it after me being 8ish. But t both Ds2 and DD have a similar tic, both hand related, but DD puts her hands up and grimaces as does DS. DS also has a mild processing disorder.
DS1 doesn't have a tic, but has a condition called aphantasia, which I also have.

Anyway, only DD tics now, and it's v v ocassional. All children are very bright and fairly popular, DS passed 11+ easily and DS2 is expected to get into a good school as well. DD has just got into a great 7+ school..

Are you worried about the tic, or about other associated conditions?

Hi underneattheash. Thanks for responding!

I’m worried about it affecting him socially at school. At the moment the head nod tic he has is very noticeable. I think he’s suppressing it a lot at school. My mind’s racing at the moment and I’m imagining his friends noticing the tics and bullying him for it, and that he’ll have to be home schooled, etc., etc. Over the top, I know... but we’re frightened for him. That’s why it would be good to hear from others who’ve got through this, or found a way to make the best of it.

It’s reassuring to know that it has stopped in your DS and calmed down in your DD. At the moment my DS is a bundle of nods and twitches (especially when watching TV) - we just want it to calm down.