Not sure if dd has/could develop tourettes

[gracemargaret]

My eldest dd (7) has recently (over last 12 months) been experiencing twitches. She has always been a bit blinky/sniffy but then she started rolling her eyes constantly (this worsened immediately after a strep infection and I've since read this may be linked to tics?). We took her to see GP who said tics are common in kids and often outgrown. The tics seem to come and go and change from month to month - so far we have had blinking, hand and foot circling, breathing in, throat clearing, nose wrinkling, climbing on furniture (would go in her room and find her crouched on her desk under her bed!), repeating what everyone was saying (annoying), constant whistling and odd walks (her legs will either stiffen or bend). None of these seem to bother her too much and she is much better at school (and worse when tired). Also even when she is still - for example when I am cuddling her I can feel every muscle in her body tensing and relaxing. She is also fine when active - it never seems to happen for example when she is dancing. Currently we are in a quiet time but I am now wondering wether/at what point to go back to GP (Is it a problem?/do I even want a diagnosis?) Has anyone else experienced similar - would really appreciate any thoughts/advice.

Don't know much about this, but it certainly sounds worth following up, depending on how bothered your DD is by having the tics/twitches.

Hi, gracemargaret,

Tourettes, or chronic tics, are something I worry about with respect to my son, too. My husband had them quite badly when he was a boy and my brother did, too. As adults, they have such mild tics, you have to know them extremely well to know they still have any at all. My 4-year old son already has multiple tics (and I'd read that they don't normally start until about 6 or 7, so I'm hoping early onset doesn't mean anything sinister!...).

I know that tics are indeed very common in young children - almost 50% have at least one or two tics during their childhood. Even with more severe and multiple tics, it is rare for them not to diminish considerably in severity by the time the child is 18 or so. 10 is normally the sort of age when the tics are at their worst.

As to whether you should do anything about it, I'm not really sure to be honest whilst it doesn't seem to be bothering your daughter, but it might put your mind own mind at rest to seek a proper diagnosis, in case it isn't tourettes at all. It's good that it sounds at the moment as though the tics are bothering you more than her, though.

The only specific advice I, my husband or my brother were ever given was that to point them out tends to make the child self conscious about them and thus probably make them worse. I find this very hard advice to follow, sometimes!

But if your daughter starts being teased about them at school, then you are definitely going to want to do something about it. My understanding is that you just can't stop them happening and any medication that is successful in dampening them down can have serious side effects, so is not a good idea in any but the most severe cases, where it disrupts the child's daily functioning. Other possible treatments include relaxation therapies, as stress can make tics worse (but doesn't cause them), and possibly even treatment to try and get a child to replace the less acceptable tics with others (can't remember what that's called and don't think it's a widely used treatment, anyway, but I rather like the sound of it!). One other advantage of getting a diagnosis is that there are support groups that you can join.

Probably haven't given you any information you didn't already have, but rest assured you aren't the only one out there worried about your child's tics! My son's favoured ones at the moment are raising his eyebrows, doing a funny little cross between a cough and a small giggle, clicking his tongue, doing a pulling up his trousers action (without actually pulling them up), and turning his head to the right. He can do several of these in quick succession, too. Obviously, he's far too young to be teased about it, yet, but my husband was teased about it at school (seems to have survived into adulthood without too much emotional scarring, though!).

ps given that your daughter has multiple tics that vary from time to time and are both vocal and motor tics, and they've gone on for at least a year, I'd say it does sound more tourette's like than any other type of tic (and therefore less likely to be a short-lived thing). But I'm most definitely not an expert - just another concerned mum.

thanks for the advice hels9 and nice to hear your husband/brothers tics are mild now as adults. I think I know it probably is Tourettes but loathed to burden her with a label whilst it is mild and not bothering her. Can I ask would you push for diagnosis if your son's tics continue? - I'm worried about the stigma around it and I also don't want her to think she is ill or defined by it in some way IYSWIM. School are great about it and amazingly no one has commented in anything but a matter of fact way. We sometimes laugh about the funnier ones but as you said think best to ignore as much as possible. What worries me most I suppose is how she will find things as a teenager (knowing how cruel girls can be about any kind of difference) but guess we will just deal with it if and when it happens.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I'd do with my son, as he's still so young, so I just don't know how he'd deal with any teasing he may face. My brother and husband were never diagnosed (although I think in the case of my husband, it probably was severe enough to be diagnosable as tourettes). I think if my son were badly bullied about it, I would seek a diagnosis and some form of help, but at such an early stage in his life, I favour leaving it and seeing how it progresses for the time being. It probably won't become something he gets teased about for quite a few years, as small children don't tend to notice these things. And as you say, primary schools are quite used to tics in children and tend to be reasonably good at handling it and not making it an issue. I'm not so sure how well handled it would be in a large secondary school, however - might be worth having a diagnosis for that stage of life if the symptoms are very noticeable?

By the way, whilst my husband was teased because of his tics, my brother doesn't remember teasing or bullying being directed his way because of tics, albeit he was picked on for other reasons.