Do any of your kids have tics?

Iza - posted on 03/01/2013

My son Aidan was diagnosed with tic disorder and ADD in January 2013. He first started to show signs of motor movement in August when he was moved from a private school of about 50 kids to a school with 700 in 2012. He was dropped off in the cafeteria and he was overwhelmed with all the students that the next day he began to hyperventilate, and showing signs of anxiety. He then started to develop small jerks of his head and small motor body movements throughout his second grade year. My husband and I diagnosed him with anxiety. It wasn't until October 2013 when I went back to school to take a Mental Diagnosing class that I started to read my DSM book that I realized that his movements were a much more complex diagnosis. I realized it was a Tic Disorder. I made an appointment with the Neurologist which took 3 months to see him and on November 2013 , he went through an EEG, brain scan, blood test and they found that he had no type of seizure related issue. On January 30th my son was prescribed Stettera in order to help him with his Tics. Between the months of October to February before meds my son stopped with the motor tics and has full blown loud vocal tics. These vocal tics are constant, sometimes when he is concentrating or watching a favorite cartoon it stops. They are very loud and constant before bed. He has been taking the medication for almost a month and his teacher says his concentration is excellent but his vocal tics increased. She began to give him mints in class or gum. Great idea, I bought him 300 pieces. I give him 8 sugar free gums a day.

I am an advocate for my son, and every mom will have to be a voice for their children especially in the schools. I am telling my story because I am a school counselor in an elementary school and I , educated in counseling did not suspect Tic Disorder. 1 to 2 percent of the population has this disorder, so it is very uncommon. It took me a year and 2 months to realize what my son's diagnosis was. Yes, if anyone suspects any type of neurological disorder, take your child to the neurologist. Get all the paper work from the doctor. Tell the 504 director in charge that you have a diagnosis and you want your child to be on the 504 plan,so they may accommodate them. Have everything in writing , date it, email it, save it in your own documentation. I am having my 504 meeting soon. And I am going to request that my son gets to chew gum when he begins with his vocal tics. Your child could get accommodated to have extra time on assignments and tests, shortened assignments, frequent breaks etc....

If the school does not do anything, you can go to the special education department and even the area administrators or even your superintendent and believe me they will move on accommodating your children. I had a meeting with a whole group of school personnel, such as the diagnostician, principal, assistant, behavior specialist, supervisor for special Ed. And I asked everyone, have any of you had a case of a child with tic disorder and the answer is no. So I needed to,educate them. I printed information for the teacher on tic and Tourette disorder. She had never heard of it before and she was eager to learn and help. I am in a large school district with over 50,000 students so,I new if no one has ever dealt with tic disorder I am going to have to read up on as much information as I can and it is an ongoing process. I even went as far as creating a lesson for the teacher on accepting differences, because some of the children in the class mimic my son and I know it saddens him. The teacher presented it and even my son tells me everybody is different and that is ok.

I am even considering having him go to a therapist for behavior therapy because I show him how to use relaxation exercises and he says yeah, yeah. He sees me as mom not as his counselor.

I hope my story helps some of you, it is a day to day struggle but we have to accept it, deal with it and count our blessing because their are so many other children who are suffering with chronic pain daily and for those parents that have to witness it is very painful. God bless

I will keep you all posted on the 504 meeting soon.

Iza

Sophia - posted on 01/05/2013

Hi Helen. My son Tareq has the disorder called tics too. I have understanded how hard it is for them. My son jerks his whole body and hits himself. His body usually axches in the morning. Just remember , Tics are usually called and caused by stress, . I know how you are feeling. I am worried about my son. But really , you just keep them happy, and they avoid and forget about it , then it usually gets less. And try to keep them on different things like sports . My son had had them for about 2 years and he has improved alot ! Also tell your son to let out the tics, dont hold them in , because if he does , it becomes worse the next time. And he should let it out at school , if anything write or note or tell your son to give a little speech infront of his class to inform them a little bit about TICS. My son did that and now he knows he doesnt have to hide it .
Hopefully you can take my advice.
From another worried Mother

Christine - posted on 09/11/2012

My son is 31. He just developed a shaking arm tick this year. He did not have any previously.

Teri - posted on 09/06/2012

The best thing to do is just pretend not to notice my son has several tics and does not do it at school for the same reason (does not want to be made fun of)

Janne - posted on 07/06/2012

Hey! My son is almost 9 and has tics for about 2 years now. The most visible ones are his eyes. But when they tested him they saw 4-5 in his face. I guess they can't control it at all. I have tried to ask my son about it,but he refuses to talk about it other than "I just have to do it and then I feel better".

Ilene - posted on 06/03/2012

My 8 year old son was just diagnosed with Aspergers. For the last few months he has been jerking his head backwards. His psychologist says it is a tic. Not sure how to stop it or what sets it off but I think it is involuntary.

Deb - posted on 03/23/2012

I have two boys, one with Asperger's and one NT and they both have tics. I have done a lot of research and have seen a lot of doctor's over the years. Tics are more common in boys than girls and usually go away by adulthood. They also get worse during puberty as you stated. Guanfacine has been used to treat tics when they interfere with a child's life (e.g. disrupting other students at school). As long as your son is not bothered by it you should ignore it. Drawing attention to tics just makes them worse. Also, any kind of physical or mental stress makes it worse. If you are concerned talk to your pediatrician. I was so concerned by my son's eye blinking tic I took him to a neurologist. They did a full workup and said he was fine, just tics.



I have read that tics/tourette's, OCD and ADHD are often comorbid with Asperger's.

Lisa - posted on 01/24/2012

My four year old son who was just diagnosed with Asperger used to have a tic; he would make burping noises and sometimes swallowed so much air over the day that he would almost vomit. He stopped doing it a few months ago when he began to have success at preschool (he has a support worker now) and I'm hoping it doesn't come back.



He often did it when he was bored with an activity or when his attention wasn't focused. Now, I think he is just so busy and rarely bored so he's not needing to act out in that way.



Hope that helps.

Hillary - posted on 01/12/2012

My son has tics, but they are only an issue when he is stressed. When we moved they were bad. Once he adjusted to the new place they went away. When he starts a new class or is put into a new situation they start up and gradually fade away as he gets more familiar with the situation.

Barbara - posted on 01/04/2012

My son has had "tics" his entire life. He likes to shake his hand (like the one hand clapping thing) as well as blurt out random words or phrases such as "I like pie" or "chicken". We have tried everything we can think of to help him stop but nothing seems to work. I have no idea about your son's tics, but I think Cody's are mainly from the need to release energy... they are more frequent when he is bored or overly excited. I'm currently trying to come up with a way to help him find a constructive way to release this energy. Good luck. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Cathy - posted on 03/14/2011

Good Afternoon Helen,
I don't know what to say. My son just keeps repeating himself,over and over again. I know the frustration. I'm sorry I can't help.