I think my son is SN

[changingtoaskthis]

But I am not sure.

We have had a horrendously hard time as a family these last 2 years and while I have been aware for a long time he is somewhat "different", there is nothing really you can put your finger on.

We thought he was anxious etc.

A while ago he developed a facial tick, that has now gone.

He has now developed a vocal tick, which is steadily worsening. He makes a noise like he is catching his breath, sometimes a few times a sentence other times there is a long gap.

He is keeping up with his peers, but he is very young for his age, he is nearly 6 and still love cbeebies etc.

He takes literally hours to do anything asked of him and if he is over stimulated has to be practically pinned to his seat.

Its like he is in his own little world and it takes him longer to snap out of it - more and more and more, the only way he will respond is if you shout at him, which is against my parenting philosophy and I absolutely hate but he simply does not listen until you do.

We have recently moved and his vocal tick is getting worse, he did start wetting himself for about 10 days but that has stopped but he has started having melt downs again - not as long as they used to be but he had 2 yesterday - DH had to literally grab him by the hood of his jumper to catch him as he ran off in the middle of a market - bearing in mind he is nearly 6.

None of it amounts to much, but I am worried about him and I want to know the best way to manage him - he is definitely different. I am just not sure how different or what it means.

Definitely ask for referral - the suggestion to look at it as a process is sensible. When I said about not looking at books too much I meant it's your job to be his mum, not diagnose him.
A couple of tics doesn't amount to Tourettes, but equally the illness has to start somewhere. My DS with it tics a lot, but also suffers with anxiety and obsessions. He's doing much better on medication, and he's now open to reason. Before when he was at the mercy of his brain malfunctioning he would just get worked up, anxious, obsessive, ticcing. Incidentally mine both slap themselves- I think it's a common enough tic in Tourettes. Tics and anxiety can also happen in ASD

With the referral process it can take a long time to be seen and it can also take a longtime to reach diagnosis. I do think you should push for this next. Don't be vague with the GP. Have a definite list of things that he does.

If it's illness he really can't help what he's doing. The tic is like an itch in their brain that they have to scratch. My sons anxiety and obsessions were constant. He ran off on holiday- he was so agitated. It was so painful to watch. He got put on Prozac- which worried me- but I think I'm getting my son back.

If it turns out to be Tourettes, apart from reading up on the neurology if it, I found it helpful to read books by sufferers in order to understand what it feels like to have it.