dd(6) has developed a severe head tic - how can we help her with other people's reactions?

[sawyersbabe]

my dd has developed a severe head tic over the last 10days. she is getting referred to get it investigated, but will meanwhile be at school.

i'm thinking of giving her a few set answers to tell people if they ask/tease her about it. dd is 6, and has been bullied a bit in the past.

has anyone got any suggestions of things she shouldn't/should say?

DS did this for a while at 8yo. He didn't get teased at all, apparently it's very common at around that age and if you were to visit a classroom you'd see loads of them at it.

We tried not to mention it to DS himself either. If you want to equip her with responses how about "it's just something I do at the moment".

There is a child in the class that I work in (7-9 year olds) that has a tic that is worsening at the moment. I have never heard any of the other children say anything to him and actually don't think they have noticed. It is quite severe but I think they just accept it as part of him. We also have several other children in the class with tics - as Cadelaide says it is common at this age. I hope your DD is ok.

It sounds like a mild form of tourettes. Does it stop when she's concentrating on something?

we're trying not to mention it at all. the doctors said they always refer cases like this just in case. she has had a intermittent fever and head aches this week as well, although i don't think they're necessarily related.

she has been at school some of the time since this started, and hasn't had any comments so far - i think its mainly adults who notice.

i just felt that if we could give her a set reply, it would be easier than her having to think of an explanation when she hasn't really got one.

i was pretty panicked when she started, but am more relaxed about it now. i think the headaches made me worry there was more going on than just a tic.

The head ache could be because she's trapped a nerve due to the twitching. Children don't seem to notice things like this as much as adults. Is it better when she's concentrating on something?

yes, i think so. its definitely worse when she's excited.

i had also been corncerned about tourettes

Seriously, tourettes isn't anything to worry about. It's excess energy that the body wants to release. It's better when the person is busy/active as it's a release for the energy, some swear so have a verbal release, some click their fingers, some have a whole body twitch. My brother has had this for years, he was treated with epilepsy medication for a few years, please don't go down this path, it wiped him out, all he did was sleep. He jerks and used to make noises. We all used to shout at him as we didn't know what it was. I'm so ashamed I treated him this way. It will get worse if she's stressed though so try not to make it into a big deal. It is best to ignore it. I've read somewhere that playing an instrument can help, a piano, something that offers a release for the energy.

Well said Fluffy.

That person sitting on the bus in front of you who's constantly clearing their throat, they have tourettes. It's really common. It's not just the swearing and excessive jerks, there are other symptoms as well. It depends on the patient.

Thanks Kimi

DS1 had a head flick, it progressed to a head flick and a finger click that went on to a head flick, finger click and squeak, he has Tourettes and has done for years now.
It gets worse when he is stressed, we were offered pills and potions but we said no, as long as DS1 can cope without them then we will manage.

Some people take the piss, DS1 says he will always have a whole lot of ugly from a long line of stupid and he gets on with it bless him.
Thankfully no cuss words, and it is just a part of him we are used to.
Fluffy it is good to see someone who understands it, hope your brother is doing ok.

He sleeps all the time, poor thing. I really don't know how to help him. He doesn't have a job, no motivation, his whole body jerks so I'm not surprised he's knackered all the time. This is him though, there are others who are worse, others who are better. I wish I could do something for him though.

I hope things get better for him.
It is a shite condition to have and the fact people find it funny/ scary is no help.

DS1 is only 12 so I don't know how he will fair with work, he is very bright and wants to go to uni.

Some of his tics can be funny and even he laughs at them.

Sending love to you and your DB x

Thankyou. That means alot.

ds1 has tourettes and both ds2 and dd have tics (ds2's are motor tics and dd's are vocal) - none of them has ever been teased about the noises or movements they make. To be honest, it's the adults who are the worst - they're much more likely to ask about it, ask children to stop doing something, generally make a big deal about it, but the other kids just accept it as something ds1/ds2/dd does

If you mention it to your dd it'll focus her attention on it and make it more likely to happen - sometimes it's hard not to - there've been times when I've felt like screaming at one or other of mine "just stop making that awful noise" - but that would only make it much worse

As the others have said, loads of primary school age children have tics - the vast majority of them would just be considered transient tic disorders - Tourettes is only diagnosed if there are both motor and vocal tics which have been present for more than a year. Ds1 is on medication to help him with his tics and impulsivity/hyperactivity - it works very well for him, so there are treatment options if you eventually need to go down that route

hi, thanks for all your answers. The headaches seem to have gone fortunately. The jerking remains, but she's not been picked on at all as far as i know.

I feel a lot more reassured now, although we probably will keep the referral appointment.

my dh has asked her about it, and she says that it just feels like an itch. apart from this, we've not mentioned it at all to her, and she seems quite happy about everything.