6yo boy constantly makes clicking noises

[MsScribbles]

My little boy is 6 and has started constantly clicking his tongue. When he's reading, watching TV, sometimes even in the middle of talking.

I'm wondering if this could indicate a deeper issue?

Some more about him:

He's a sweet kid, loving and cuddly and generally well-behaved, though can be a bit of a beast at home (arguing with sister, being disagreeable etc). Behaves very well at school, is not gregarious but gets on well with other kids. Advanced in terms of reading/numeracy etc.

I've noticed that he hates noisy and busy places, finds them quite distressing in fact, and he can really act up when we are in that kind of environment (big party, music festival etc).

Previously he had a habit cough, for quite a long time. He would cough (not a real cough) every 20 seconds or so. It was quite irritating but it passed.

I've always felt like he's a sensitive lad, but this new clicking thing is making feel worried.

Anyone got any experience of this?

To clarify what I meant by my paragraph above, I am not saying that DF, DD and I are all on the autistic spectrum. I am saying that DS is, and that it's not possible to say that DF, DD and I definitively aren't.

Apologies to MsScribbles for thread drift.

I think you have taken offence where none was intended. The spectrum is not linear. It is multi faceted. It contains many different traits. Diagnosing is not a black and white yes/no issue. Which is why it's a spectrum. Some traits can require additional support, others don't. I'm not trying to minimise how difficult it can be for some people - nor to make light of the issues. I apologise if that's how it came across.

Everyone refers to my son has having mild autism because he is high functioning, I can assure you Ds does not feel his symptoms are mild when he is experiencing them. It appears mild to the observer because he is so clever at masking.
I also think you are either autistic or you are not, there is no in between. There are probably a lot of undiagnosed people in the population.