Mild Tourettes- Any info please!

[Nancy10]

My son is 10 (yr 5.) He is displaying possible signs of Tourettes syndrome. He's not verbal but has what we (me and his teacher) think are the 'Tics.' He rubs his eyes and blinks, low cough sound in his throat, biting clothes etc. He also has an OCD with his bedroom being incredibly tidy. Although this has eased off. Otherwise he's a happy boy, with friends, doing really well at school. Obviously I'm no expert so would be interested to hear from anyone with any knowledge!

I would definitely get some advice and a referral to CAHMS or similar. There is a British website and forum for Tourettes too, though don't know if it's still going.

I developed a tic disorder at this age - I believe it is the classic age for Tourettes or tic disorders to start. Mine was most intense (or most obvious) between the ages of 10 and 11 and then it trailed off though I do have a tendency to subtly tic when stressed even now. The negative side of it was that it left me feeling overly self-conscious and unable to speak in public which has lingered, but I never had any help and my parents used to shout at me about it. Not good.

With the benefit of hindsight, I realise several female members of my family have very mild tics - it is very inheritable. You wouldn't know any of us have tics unless you spend a long time in our company and I am lucky enough not to have to think about it much nowadays.

I have heard that Touretters are often funny, creative people - not sure if that's a myth or not, but your son sounds great!

Thanks for replying. My sister had tics when she was younger. She's nearly 30 now, so back then, my mum used to think it was just a habit and would tell her off. And of course being hereditary makes me think, this is what it is. I admit my son has driven me mad, particularly with the cough. One of his teachers at school commented on the OCD a few years ago, but we just laughed it off. He has a new teacher now who has noticed these tics and when I mentioned Tourettes, she didn't bat an eyelid. Which caught me by surprise as I was expecting her to say 'No, of course it's not.'
Luckily, he does not seem worried at all by it and none of his friends have noticed which is good.
I will definately look into getting him seen as I'm worried about when he moves onto Secondary School. Thanks again

I read an article by Jonas who was recently on 'Celebrity' Big Brother. He has Tourettes and spoke quite movingly about it and how he has somehow overcome it. Worth a read if you can google it.

My DS1 has all the tics you mention. He bites clothes, had a blinking phase and had a frequent throat clearing cough for over a year.
He most likely has Aspergers (he is going through diagnosis now). He does have other traits too though.... how is your DS with the social side of things and with communication?

I'm really confident he doesn't have Aspergers. He's really outgoing and sociable and very confident around people. He has good language, all his developmental milestones were reached at the right ages. It's just the tics. I wrote down every tic I think he has had and the good thing is, he has stopped some of them. His main one is the blinking, cough isn't as often, biting clothes occassionally. It's almost like we hardly noticed when he had quite a few tics but we realising now what they could possibly have been because.
He doesn't have any learning difficulties, he's joint top of the school with his reading, maths isn't his strong point but even so, he's average. We're wondering whether it's a mild form of Tourettes or a nervous twitch.

Will definately read about Jonas too! I watched BB and wasn't aware!

There is a website - Tourettes Action - www.tourettes-action.org.uk/ which could give you some more information - my son is in the process of being diagnosed with Tourettes and ADHD - he has a vocal tic, a severe head nodding tic and has just developed a hand thrusting tic too - my son is not quite 6 and it was distressing when it was first discussed - but the more I read up on it, it is something that can be controlled - my sons school referred me to the consultant paediatrician and have been very supportive. There is help out there, the first stop would be to go to your Doctors and ask to be referred to the Paediatrician - it could just be something called motor tic syndrom - it may stop on its own, but it is worth getting help and advice from your doctors.