Child suddenly started ticcing - scared

[Twixmas]

My 11 year old son has just started ticcing, within last fortnight, when passively seated watching tv or computer. Not so much when active or talking.

It's so noticeable. Hes never done anything like this before. He sweeps and jerks his head, every few seconds sometimes. He has no temp no headache and no other symptoms, he says it's like he has to do it but he isnt particularly bothered. I took him for blood tests yesterday following gp call but no idea what they'll be looking for.

Can anyone tell me what might be going on or offer a hand hold or any kind of reassurance? I'm so scared.

*Hopeful Bump

My boy did this when he was about 7. I was really worried, got neuro appointments etc, then after about a year he just stopped.
My friend's daughter also started ticcing at 11. Really violent head movements which really upset her. Then, 2 months down the line, nothing. Just stopped over night.
The neurologist I saw with my son told me it's quite common in kids 🤷‍♀️

Mine started doing this aged 9. It was stress related - school - and when the specific stress was removed he suddenly stopped. It is very common in children so don’t worry, but do investigate.

Friends Dd did this after a virus.

Then just stopped suddenly.

My daughter did this around that age. Used to really stretch her mouth wide a lot for a couple of years on and off. I think it’s quite common and usual advice is to ignore and it’ll go away. Well done for getting him checked out though.

Has she been unwell at all with a temperature.

There is a treatable condition called PANDAS that can suddenly bring on tics.

I've heard that about infections can bring it on and goodness me there's a certain infection around we all know about.

He had a dry cough in Feb/March but no temp and at the time the doc said it wasn't likely to be covid and this was before there were any tests widely available... That was a while ago though...

No temperature, he's in great spirits being off school for holiday and immersed in minecraft although he did struggle with the long homeschool lock down - I wondered if that might have been a stress trigger but then again, that was a while ago, he's had a fairly normal school term.

Thanks for the reassurance, it's really appreciated.

My son started with tics Y4, saying "mmm" it became hard for him to read. When he started grimmacing, I went to the GP. DS said he felt a pressure build up and then performing a tic would release it. A paediatrician diagnosed simple tics and said they were very common and said that rarely it can be a sign of epilepsy if grunting continued during sleep but neurologically DS seemed fine. At the time, he was in a sports club which he used to become anxious about. We moved clubs and they seemed to fade away.

He is now Y7 and for the past 3 months has started grimmacing again! - He is aware as he coves his mouth momentarily with his hand or turns away. For the past few weeks, he has added eye rolling.! Hopefully they will fade again.

Might be the stress of school/current uncertainty

The irony is my elder son who is 13 has ASD and has ticced with the gaping mouth thing forever, since he was a toddler really - so much so that I don't even notice it. My younger son though has always been a solid steady sort of kid, I've had such a easy ride with him, never been ill and so this coming out the blue has swerved me so much, not really sure why! I'm so on edge trying not to look at him doing it and playing it super cool but it's really unsettling!

I would put money on the lockdown upset this year being something of a trigger, he loved his football buddies, plus being on the cusp of puberty - he's shot up in the last year.

My oldest son started this when he was 6, it started due to high stress of his baby sister being born who had a severe heart defect. We were in the hospital for 6 weeks.

Posted too soon.
Once we were home again it stopped, at times it was really severe, I remember counting over 100 tics in 1 min, I was so worried about him. Our gp said it was stress induced and it would stop eventually. He's 21 now and it never happened again.

I had two phases in childhood with tics that came and went without explanation. 5-6yrs was weird mouth movements, and 12-13 was eye twitching. Probably stress related as the first phase was connected with a move to a different country and the second was onset of puberty with lots of school stuff. Can't even remember if my parents took me to the doctors but both passed without any problems. As an adult I'm prone to anxiety and obsessive thoughts but physical tics have never been around.

read up on Tourette's
www.nhs.uk/conditions/tourettes-syndrome/

it is fairly common at this age and normally just goes away on its own.

DS started this at age 4 after a bump to the head. Consultant said the 2 weren’t related! Anyway, he doesn’t have them a lot anymore. He has one little tic when he’s excited but that’s it.

My ds started with a tic at age 10 and it disappeared after about 6 months.

Thanks for sharing your experiences it's really helping me see it in perspective x hes so normal and happy just twitching away and its difficult to ignore it although I know it's best not to say owt.