Ticks/Tourette's in children

[Bluesince1979]

Ok my little 8 year old boy is constantly twitching and making noises

The twitches can take any forms, shoulder shrugging, fascial twitches, all sorts and each one lasts about 5 days before they change.

The noises again take all sorts of different forms, coughing or just grunts or high pitched noises

Hes a lovely lad , very full on, impossible to tire him out and hes full of energy from 7am til 10pm. Doesnt matter what sort of day he has, he never tires
He goes bed at 8.30 but be bouncing around his room til we go bed at 10 and he settles down

Anyone any experience in this?
Are you supposed to make a deal of it to stop is (as in point out hes doing it) or ignore (difficult when we are trying to chill and hes all over the shop making a racket)

Its a horrible feeling when youre desperate for his bed time just for peace n quiet

 

[ErlingHaaland]

First bit of advice is you need to get him diagnosed asap . My son took 6 years to be fully diagnosed and trust me you get pushed through a lot of hoops before you get a full diagnosis .

My son is now diagnosed with ASD and ADHD but like I said it’s been a very long road . The sooner you get a diagnosis the better it will help with school etc .

It’s not easy but it does get better .

 

[Uncle Wally One Ball]

Ok my little 8 year old boy is constantly twitching and making noises

The twitches can take any forms, shoulder shrugging, fascial twitches, all sorts and each one lasts about 5 days before they change.

The noises again take all sorts of different forms, coughing or just grunts or high pitched noises

Hes a lovely lad , very full on, impossible to tire him out and hes full of energy from 7am til 10pm. Doesnt matter what sort of day he has, he never tires
He goes bed at 8.30 but be bouncing around his room til we go bed at 10 and he settles down

Anyone any experience in this?
Are you supposed to make a deal of it to stop is (as in point out hes doing it) or ignore (difficult when we are trying to chill and hes all over the shop making a racket)

Its a horrible feeling when youre desperate for his bed time just for peace n quiet

First step, GP. Ask for a referral, get a diagnosis

 

[isab23502]

Yes - my step-son (10) is the same. He has had an ADHD diagnosis. Always making odd noises and getting over-excited and then starts stimming. Clapping often. It takes a lot of getting used to if you are used to kids without it.

 

[Bluesince1979]

Thanks all. My mrs is a teacher and although no expert in ADHD she can recognise signs.

In a way im not over keen in a diagnosis as i dont want him labled. Silly i know.

Hes ok at school, maybe a little silly. He plays football, is good but his coach recognises he cant stick to a position and has to be left to charge about like a loon

Its more at home . He just doesnt stop and its waring

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Thanks all. My mrs is a teacher and although no expert in ADHD she can recognise signs.

In a way im not over keen in a diagnosis as i dont want him labled. Silly i know.

Hes ok at school, maybe a little silly. He plays football, is good but his coach recognises he cant stick to a position and has to be left to charge about like a loon

Its more at home . He just doesnt stop and its waring

Get over that diagnosis worry now!
Get him assessed asap.
You won’t get any necessary help without it.
Personally I’d ask the GP for a private referral.
£200 or so gets you seen now and not at the whim of the school’s ed psych months down the line.
My daughter had SEN and I fought her corner every day at school to get all the support she was entitled to in law, that schools will try and minimise as much as possible because of budget constraints.
It’s hard enough for kids at school without added pressures.

 

[ErlingHaaland]

Thanks all. My mrs is a teacher and although no expert in ADHD she can recognise signs.

In a way im not over keen in a diagnosis as i dont want him labled. Silly i know.

Hes ok at school, maybe a little silly. He plays football, is good but his coach recognises he cant stick to a position and has to be left to charge about like a loon

Its more at home . He just doesnt stop and its waring

I get the labelling 100% ! I was totally the same and I think it was more about how I thought other people would judge him / us .

My lad is now 14 and not in mainstream school as it really was to much for him . He’s on medication that helps him a lot to focus more on tasks and he’s a kind , bright , intelligent person .

If you need anything feel free to drop me a message if it helps

 

[Stephen230]

I did a very lot of amateur research into this sort of thing a few years ago because a couple of my kids were clearly not ‘normal’ Shit word I know. But just easier than beating about the bush trying to use the correct terminology.

But anyway one of the things I did read was that eight was the optimum age when you would first notice a child may have Tourette’s. And it’s a lot more common in boys.

I’ve no great advice other than what other people have said. Get the ball rolling as soon as possible with the authorities. Because it’s a long road before you can get access to best help that suits your child’s particular needs.

But there’s some wonderful schools out there who specialise in the various related conditions. That’s if he ends up needing a special provision of course. Many people don’t.

Good luck.

 

[Stephen230]

Thanks all. My mrs is a teacher and although no expert in ADHD she can recognise signs.

In a way im not over keen in a diagnosis as i dont want him labled. Silly i know.

Hes ok at school, maybe a little silly. He plays football, is good but his coach recognises he cant stick to a position and has to be left to charge about like a loon

Its more at home . He just doesnt stop and its waring

Just to add to my previous post after reading this. Getting help and getting a diagnosis don’t always have to go hand in hand.

With one of my kids the paediatrician came out and pretty much asked us if she wanted us to have him officially diagnosed with autism or not. I think a lot of people think without the diagnosis, they’ll be no help.

That’s not the case though. We declined for similar reasons to you. But he still got a EHCP and loads of help. Eventually, it has to be said. Eventually got him in a small eight child resource unit at a main stream school, which is absolutely fantastic. They are still part of the mainstream class a lot of the time but there’s always the option to withdraw back to the unit when things are getting a bit on top.

Again. Best of luck.

 

[Crouchinho]

I see a few of the kids with it here. One lady does reverse therapy with her lad, I don't know how effective that is long term but it's good if you don't want to go through the med route. My understanding is it's similar to redirection for a kid on the spectrum but in this instance you would nip it in the bud before it happens

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Try and get him on melatonin at night to help him sleep. You have to have it prescribed in the UK which is ridiculous.
In the States it is available over the counter for 3 years plus.
My granddaughter (5 next month) is up all night and my daughter was at her Wits end when granddaughter was 3 and a half. I sent her a bottle of melatonin and she took one chewable tablet (1 mg) and within 20 mins was sound asleep throughout the night. She gave it to her a few nights after just to get her into a regular sleep pattern and now uses it once or twice a week after she's had a long afternoon kip meaning she'd be up all night.
If you want I'd be happy to send you some.
It is pure herbal

 

[Bluesince1979]

Thank you all again.

There are no problems with school. As i say, a bit silly, but what 8 year old isnt. This isnt affecting his behaviour in a big way at all really. If he has ADHD then its mild. Which is why i dont want to put him/us through a diagnoses

My biggest concern is the noises and the ticks. When it gets to chill out time and we are watching tv the noises become waring. Sounds terrible when i read that back. But im just being honest
Hes not totallu aware hes doing it and just says his brain is telling him to do it.

I also dont want other kids to start to notice as kids can be cruel

Weirdly eating is another. He never stops!! Hes not fat , think he burns it off, but wondered if that was connected to the twitches etc … i.e tourettes

 

[fulabeer]

Thanks all. My mrs is a teacher and although no expert in ADHD she can recognise signs.

In a way im not over keen in a diagnosis as i dont want him labled. Silly i know.

Hes ok at school, maybe a little silly. He plays football, is good but his coach recognises he cant stick to a position and has to be left to charge about like a loon

Its more at home . He just doesnt stop and its waring

You need to get help now.
Our youngest has ADHD. The signs where there early on. It takes a while to get it recognised.
I wasn't so sure about medication to treat it though. My attitude that although tiring, we could manage.
What was pointed out was how it affects his education. In the early years, the brain is forming, and any lost education is hard to regain later on. So although with time he may grow out of it, he will struggle to get any education lost back.

They tried several drugs until they found one that suited. Even that changed as he got older.

What the drugs do is put a brake on his brain. It allows him to concentrate and focus. Plus he isn't tired out all the time and that helps him.
The drugs wear off by evening time, but by then he is naturally more tired.
He went from no friends to a large circle of friends now. He is invited to every party.

Weekends have a lower dose, so he is either lethargic or manic, but to a more more manageable degree.
Because he is less of a handful, we have more time and energy to be nicer to him rather than constantly shouting at him etc.

 

[Sir peace frog]

Thanks all. My mrs is a teacher and although no expert in ADHD she can recognise signs.

In a way im not over keen in a diagnosis as i dont want him labled. Silly i know.

Hes ok at school, maybe a little silly. He plays football, is good but his coach recognises he cant stick to a position and has to be left to charge about like a loon

Its more at home . He just doesnt stop and its waring

hope i dont sound too harsh here.but fucking hell


why don't you want your son diagnosed , is that about you ? or your son ?, we all want the perfect family,perfect "happy and clever child" sadly we all don't get it, don't be in denial you're doing no one a favour, he obviously needs help,get it seen too.

my daughter has all sorts of problems, tourettes adhd autism would be a blessing, get it looked into ASAP ,it will help you and more importantly your child.

with the right help your life would be a lot easier , good luck without help and a label you're gonna fucking need it.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

My eight year old Nephew is going through the assessments for ADHD now. We thought he had Tourette’s at first because he grunts or makes a shouting noise for no reason every now and again, but we’re finding out that it is more likely to be part of ADHD patterns.

 

[threespires]

When it gets to chill out time and we are watching tv the noises become waring. Sounds terrible when i read that back. But im just being honest.

It doesn't sound terrible, it just sounds human.

The advantage of a diagnosis is the more you understand the physiological details of what is going on the less you project things that aren't there into the situation. I care for my brother who has a learning disability which involves some quite tricky to decipher sensory processing disorders, until I got a better understanding I just used to think he was trolling me cause he's a rag.

 

[CarlosTevez'sEnglishTutor]

There's not the same stigma now as there was many years ago. Many adults are now being diagnosed with ADHD and/or Autism in later life. Most of which say that their life would have been easier if they were diagnosed as a child, as parameters can be put in place in school etc to aid their learning and needs.

This sounds like it could be a mix of the above. Autistic people often stim, similar to people who tick with Tourette's. Stimming is often a way of showing feelings, sometimes excitement and happiness and sometimes anxiety or sadness. This can follow many forms by way of noises or repetitive movements. Autistic people do this as a way of reassuring themselves. You say he eats a lot but is he picky? Autistic people often fixate on the same foods and routines and can become quite hostile or upset when these patterns are interrupted. It's usually beige foods like pasta, certain types of bread, crisps, chicken nuggets, cereals that Autistic people become attached to.

Autism is so prevalent in our society to different degrees, and often explains a lot in way of how people behave and interact. Males and females often present with very different characteristics. Get him checked out mate but be prepared for this to take several years if based in the UK and several hoops to jump through before you get to see the required specialists. A GP with all due respect, will likely know little more than me for example, who has dealt directly with Autistic family members and worked with Autistic children. GP will be your first point of contact though, unfortunately. Keep banging on doors until they are answered mate, and don't take 'no' for an answer until you get appointments with specialists.

 

[Jesus H Gabz]

There's not the same stigma now as there was many years ago. Many adults are now being diagnosed with ADHD and/or Autism in later life. Most of which say that their life would have been easier if they were diagnosed as a child, as parameters can be put in place in school etc to aid their learning and needs.

This sounds like it could be a mix of the above. Autistic people often stim, similar to people who tick with Tourette's. Stimming is often a way of showing feelings, sometimes excitement and happiness and sometimes anxiety or sadness. This can follow many forms by way of noises or repetitive movements. Autistic people do this as a way of reassuring themselves. You say he eats a lot but is he picky? Autistic people often fixate on the same foods and routines and can become quite hostile or upset when these patterns are interrupted. It's usually beige foods like pasta, certain types of bread, crisps, chicken nuggets, cereals that Autistic people become attached to.

Autism is so prevalent in our society to different degrees, and often explains a lot in way of how people behave and interact. Males and females often present with very different characteristics. Get him checked out mate but be prepared for this to take several years if based in the UK and several hoops to jump through before you get to see the required specialists. A GP with all due respect, will likely know little more than me for example, who has dealt directly with Autistic family members and worked with Autistic children. GP will be your first point of contact though, unfortunately. Keep banging on doors until they are answered mate, and don't take 'no' for an answer until you get appointments with specialists.

Some good advice & knowledge there blue, have to disagree about the stigma issues though, they’re still there, people just hide them better these days, if anything it’s worse because there’s a greater understanding of these conditions but not much change in attitudes, I’ve heard parents get their children to promise not to play with such a child because they’ve got ‘naughty boy syndrome’ etc there’s still the old ‘ that wasn’t around in my day, you where naughty you got punished’ or the conspiracies like the drug companies are pushing their pills & drugging a generation of kids. I’ve heard these things twenty years ago and still hear it now, obviously people’s experiences differ, we’d all like to think as a society we’ve moved on in that time, but from what I’ve seen it’s not enough

 

[Big Joe Corrigan]

I see a few of the kids with it here. One lady does reverse therapy with her lad, I don't know how effective that is long term but it's good if you don't want to go through the med route. My understanding is it's similar to redirection for a kid on the spectrum but in this instance you would nip it in the bud before it happens

Any chance you can give a bit more info regarding reverse therapy and redirection Crouchy? Cheers.

 

[CarlosTevez'sEnglishTutor]

Some good advice & knowledge there blue, have to disagree about the stigma issues though, they’re still there, people just hide them better these days, if anything it’s worse because there’s a greater understanding of these conditions but not much change in attitudes, I’ve heard parents get their children to promise not to play with such a child because they’ve got ‘naughty boy syndrome’ etc there’s still the old ‘ that wasn’t around in my day, you where naughty you got punished’ or the conspiracies like the drug companies are pushing their pills & drugging a generation of kids. I’ve heard these things twenty years ago and still hear it now, obviously people’s experiences differ, we’d all like to think as a society we’ve moved on in that time, but from what I’ve seen it’s not enough

Fair comments mate, unfortunately that is par for the course in a lot of working class areas where people aren't educated on these issues. It was the type of shite my own mother was coming out with in the 90s and probably still does tbh. You can't take the estate out of some people.