How to help reduce Tics

[LS2242]

Hi All

 

Since a few weeks ago my sons tics have come back. Initially it was the usual mouth stretching and rapid blinking, however today his rapid blinking stopped and now he puts his head forward and he does his mouth as far open and stretched as he possibly can. he has never done it to this extent before. He is complaining now that inside his mouth hurts (not from trying to supress but by the shear extent of the stretch) I have given him things to suck on to try and counteract it a little, but this did not work. He tried just small mouth openings but this didn't supress the need and in fact made him worse. Tried geting him to relax also.

 

We normally just ignore his tics and dont draw attention to them, however these are so visible and rather disturbing to watch and now that he is complaining of pain, I feel I have to try to do something. with it being the weekend I cant contact his CP.

 

Does anyone suffer from tics or have any ideas on how I can supress them even a little.

[LS2242]

Hi again

 

I have been doing some research in the TS. My son could not be dx with TS as although he has had them for approx 3 years (we only realised they where tics 18mths ago) and when they subside they come back in less than the 3 months as per the criteria (normally back after approx 4 weeks) He however does not get the vocal tics.

 

I keep reading about TS and ADHD & OCD but only on a few places have I seen the ASD & TS can also be linked. I have not been able to find anywhere that explains how TS & ASD are related. Can anyone tell me?

Is it worthwhile pursuing for another dx so more eveidence towards getting a statement in due course or should I leave it be. I am not confident is is TS but his tics are obvious and am concerned if this latest one does not subside a little, how it will effect on already bad experience of school life.

[Stella63]

Hi

 

As you can see from my signature thing, OJ has Tourettes as well as AS and OCD. You don't mention how old your son is but OJ was dx'd when he was 9 up at St.Georges hospital in London. They have a specialist Tourettes clinic and are fantastic. His tics were initially the eye blinking, squinting, rolling, then arm and leg jerks and as he has got older have become more complex. the vocal tics can include things like coughing, any noise that comes from his mouth or throat, not to be confused with verbal tics which only 10% of Touretters have.

 

It is almost impossible to suppress tics although there is medication but OJ refuses this as he says his tics are part of him, even when they are extremely painful - I think the worst was when he was cracking his jaw hundreds of times a day - chewing gum helped to alleviate this one! Sometimes it is possible to encourage a replacement tic to stop the one that is hurting (I did do some research on this) but OJ found that difficult to do in most cases.

 

I'm cautiously thinking that his tics have peaked and are decreasing which does happen for a lot of people in their teens - the hormones make them worse in early puberty - he is now 14, voice broken etc and although he has more vocal tics now, the motor tics have definitely eased.

 

He has always been very upfront about Tourettes and when he started secondary school he wanted all his classmates to understand the condition, even taking in a dvd for a PSHE class!!

 

I hope this helps in some small way - it has been a long journey of understanding and if I can in any way please feel free to pm me (also if you want any resources)

 

Stella xx

[Janey]

Hi there,

 

My ds has had tics for several years he is 11 now and the tics have suddenly become much worse to the extent that they are seriously upsetting him and preventing him from doing things. He has had an urgent appointment with CAMHS this week where although they didn't diagnose Tourettes they did say it was separate from his ASD. I'm pretty sure it is Tourettes he fits all the characteristics.

 

The consultant I saw suggested a technique called Mass Practice where ds has to practice some of his tics on purpose frequently throughout the day. The theory is he will develop neurological links in his brain to be able to bring the tics under control (or thats how I understood it in laymans terms). Apparently this technique has had some good results for other people, today is day one for ds I'll keep you posted how it goes.

 

Janey

[LS2242]

Hi Janey

 

Sorry to hear that your son's tics are preventing him from doing things. It must be very difficult for them when they they have no control over them and it upsets them. I spoke to CAHMs last week also about this and all I got was HOPEFULLY when he is less stressed and matures these will become less frequent. I did take note of the word HOPEFULLY. He was not prepared to discuss TS at this stage (it dosen't matter that he had them for a long time) All he said if they get to bad again then we can do some work to conteract them by making the muscles do the opposite. That is the opposite to what you have been advised to do, I think.

I am sure there must be more than one way of dealing with them, which is good at least options are open.

I tried only for a week to make him do the opposite but the NEED to do them increased dramatically. On the down side of doing this was that, as they dont bother him with it being school holidays, he is more aware that I have noticed them and no doubt he will feel that I dont like them and I want to make him stop. So because of this I have stopped trying to counteract them for now. This is obviously not the same scenario as yourself as your son is destressed by them and if it causes this ammount of stress (which in turn increases the tics) then you have to try to reduce them.

Interesting to hear TS is seperate from ASD. I wonder how tics can be either TS or down to an ASD? Mmmmm, if you know I would love to hear your views on this. Does your son have vocal tics also? Please do let me know how you get on.

Best of Luck

[Sally44]

There must be a tourettes website or advice line or something. Speak with them about who should assess a child suspected of tourettes. It maybe that CAHMS are just too generalised and you need specialist advice. You may need to go back to your GP and ask for a specific referal even if it is out of area.