Motor tic - handhold needed

[TinglyandCurious]

My nearly 4 year old has developed a motor tic over the last few days (although there have been brief hints at it over the last few months) which involves him closing his eyes/opening his mouth (like a very brief yawn). It’s very noticeable and very frequent. Seems to come in clusters in a row and then calm down for a few hours where it’s less frequent.

I took him to A&E yesterday as it was almost constant. They have swabbed him for strep (although has no signs of viral or bacteral
illness now or recently) and referred to neurology but I spoke to a lovely Consultant who said he is confident it is a simple motor tic and will resolve itself over time. He told us it’s essential we ignore it and don’t bring any attention to it. My son is otherwise his normal lovely self and isn’t bothered by it.

I’m really struggling with it though.. I don’t understand where it’s come from (Consultant mentioned it can come from children feeling a lack of emotional safely but we have a calm, happy home) and how it could have come on so dramatically- we’ve just come back from holiday so he’s tired but has been sleeping fine.

He did have a blinking tic a year ago but was much less dramatic. My mind is spiralling with it all - does anyone have any advice or similar experiences they can share?

thanks!

I had the exact same experience with my DD when she was 4. Like your DS she started with an eye blinking tic and then a few weeks later she started doing a repeated movement with her mouth, kind of opening her mouth wide while tilting her neck. It was extremely upsetting to watch to the point I had to leave the room as I couldn't cope. I ended up filming her and showing the videos to the GP who said it was nothing to worry about, it was just a motor tic and to just ignore it. Eventually the mouth tic disappeared and over the years she's had a few different tics that come and go. Interestingly, the tics do not seem to happen at school but come out mainly at home (very common apparently). She is now 11 and a very happy healthy girl. Try not to worry, motor tics are very common in kids and in most cases go away as they grow up.

Thank you so much @Nathalie1975. That’s incredibly reassuring. I feel very tearful about it and I know that sounds over the top but it’s generated a lot of fear about the future but hearing your experience helps. Did it take months to go? And did it just stop or tail
off? I know no two cases are the same but I need to get on top of my anxiety about this really.

My 9 year old has had various tics over the years, blinking, scrunching nose, pushing his lower jaw out and many more I can't remember. Completely agree about ignoring, as soon as we did that they were all short-lived. He'll then go months without one then they come again, we ignore, and the cycle repeats. I'm sure will one day they will finish for good. My husband finds it harder to ignore than me and if he is noticeably frustrated/comments on them they last longer. Just carry on as normal and it will hopefully pass.

I can't remember how the mouth tic stopped, if it stopped suddenly or tailed off. I think it lasted a few weeks. Tics are not caused by feeling emotionnally unsecure by the way. Tics are caused by changes in the brain. But they can be made worse by stress, tiredness, excitement etc...
At the time I was exactly like you, very upset and worried. I couldn't sleep and felt physically sick watching her. She was just about to start school (Scotland) and I worried it would affect her socially. But she never has tics at school. It is common for kids to suppress tics in social situations and then let them all out at home when they can relax. It is very important not to draw attention to the tics as it can make them worse.
My DD knows she sometimes has tics, I have just told her it is nothing to worry about, many kids have them and they will go away as she grows up and her brain matures.

I had a motor tic as a child - I mumbled my fingers (this was I word I used) and made a mouth movement. I can't remember when it went, but I think it must have been mid primary school. I remember my younger brother talking about it as something I used to do when we were in house we moved to when I was 8, so it had stopped well before that. I only did it at home, and I think I came to have a degree of control over when it happened and my parents either didn't know or never said anything.
Strange thing was that it came back briefly 3 decades later, just after I had my first child. It never happened deliberately, but it was relaxing, it made me feel whole body calm in the way that having a cigarette did when I was a previously a smoker - a sudden wave of relaxation. No one (except my newborn!) ever saw it. It lasted a few months with decreasing frequency. Again I had a degree of control without it being in any way deliberate or intended.
I think it's a developmental thing, and the best advice is not to mention it so it just runs its course.

DS had pretty bad tics as a child, starting at around 3 or 4 years old, and at their worst around 7 or 8 I think. Some were ongoing (blinking) and others came and went, and he had both vocal and motor tics at various times. The incessant throat clearing (and by incessant I mean every two seconds) was a particularly trying phase for everyone! And some of the motor tics were quite pronounced and concerning.

When it was at its worst he met the criteria for a Tourettes diagnosis and I was really quite worried. No help at all from anyone (a CAHMS referral that got lost twice and never resulted in an appointment). I read up a lot myself and my understanding is that around age 11 the tics either gradually begin to ease off (the most common outcome) or continue to increase ("full blown" Tourettes in simplistic terms.

Fortunately DS followed the former path and now as an older teen he doesn't really tic at all now. The excessive blinking is still there if he gets very tired (or sometimes for no apparent reason at all) but it is well within the range of a normal quirk iyswim.

When DS was at his worst we did try a magnesium supplement (there is some early evidence for it) and I think it did help a little, although with something that waxes and wanes so regularly it is difficult to be sure. But something to think about. And yes, ignoring is absolutely the correct course of action.

Thank you so much again @Nathalie1975 and also @FoxSticks, @Goingclipclipertycloponthestairs , @Woofwoofwoofgoesthewolfhound for sharing your experiences. I feel massively reassured.

We went out today and as you said @Nathalie1975 it was much better out of the house. It got immediately worse when we got home.

I will also look into magnesium supplements! Hadn’t considered the impact of something like that.

Thanks again all, I’m going to have to learn how to endure this more rationally for DS sake. One day at a time!

My daughter developed multiple vocal and motor tics when she was 7. Started with constant blinking, then constant throat clearing, then flexing fingers, twirling ankles, then she couldn’t stand the sensation of lots of clothes and shoes. I was worried sick as there were so many. Paediatrician thought it was caused by grief and anxiety after losing her grandma and that it would pass. I didn’t believe it would pass but it did. Lasted several months and then just stopped. The relief! She is 20 now and no evidence of any tics at all. I know how you must be feeling but I think it’s wise to ignore it, as hard as that is, and try not to worry as it will very likely just stop in time.

Thanks so much for sharing @Doublevodka. I’m so pleased it all turned out okay. Feeling much more hopeful not that this will pass and not descend into something chronic.

Hi please can you give an update on your little one as mine is going through the same sort of thing and I'm just so worried x

my 9 year old developed a blinking tic a couple of years ago, it lasted a couple of months and went again. We didn’t see another tic until this year when he started with the blinking again and it was CONSTANT. We tried to ignore it but it was so noticeable everyone was asking him if he was ok which made him feel so self conscious and us just awful for him and not really knowing what to do. Advice from the docs was to keep ignoring it and we did, I’d say he had it from April to September and then one day he woke up and it was magically gone! The GP suggested with the timings of it coming and going it was something to do with him being away from home on school trips and being anxious and this made perfect sense. Each time they appeared he’d been away with either school or his football team. I know it’s really scary but honestly they do just go so please try and stay calm, it really doesn’t have to be a sign of anything more daunting I promise x

My older dd had a coughing throat clearing tic, when she was about 8, followed a year or so later by a rapid blinking tic.. we were told it can be caused by magnesium deficiency, so gave her magnesium supplements and this did really seem to help. Also magnesium rich things like dark chocolate. She gradually stopped them and now as a teen hasn't had any for years.