lisa2701 Report post Posted December 30, 2012 After reading another post about a child ticcing it has got me wondering about my own son. I didn't want to hijack the other persons thread hence I've created this one. My son is 8 and has autism and over the last 6-9 months he's started sucking air through his teeth between sentences and before he starts talking. The more excited or upset/frsutrated/angry he is the worse it seems. He's always struggled with finding his words also and often does this sucking a couple of times while he's thinking also. He also had this thing where he blows air out his nose causing a snorting sound, I've had him checked for adinoids and sinus issues but all was ok. I've never considered it to be a tic but then again I had no idea that things like throat clearing could be classed as a tic. I have never made a big deal out of it but have occassionally asked him to stop snorting as I find it difficult to cope with and he tells me he can't help it, I'm now wondering if either of these two things would/could be classed as a tic and he genuinely can't help it. If not are they just a behavioural habit he's gotten into? Either way advice would be appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robert7111a Report post Posted December 30, 2012 How is your son's speech? Is he able to articulate and form his words properly? If not, a referral to a speech and language therapist might be in order... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smileyK Report post Posted December 30, 2012 Is one tic or several? Does it happen when stressed or anxious? Has TS looked into? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisa2701 Report post Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) My sons speech is very good now, he's able to form words and is reasonably articulate. He had intensive speech and language therapy from nursery up until p3 and what a difference its made. Id now say he talks quite formally, with an american accent, and is able to express his needs and wants well. He still struggles to find his words on occasions, more so if he's stressed, but overal his speech is very good. I'd say he sucks air through his teeth most when he's really excited trying to tell you something (usually when talking about his special interests) or if he's gotten himself angry or stressed and he's trying to explain something about it. Spoke to my mother about it today and she thinks its just a speech filler, like someone saying 'Emm' and before reading about mild vocal tics (only first discovered there was such a thing last night) I would have agreed but now I'm not so sure. That said, I haven't heard him do it once today! Edited December 30, 2012 by lisa2701 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites