Is this Tourette's?

[beltoller]

I've a ten year old son who has ADHD, OCD and possibly GAD. Recently he's developed this habit of looking out the right upper-corner of his eyes every few moments. He does this whether he is occupied with something of interest or not. We originally thought this to be another symptom of OCD like his cuticle/nail pulling and lip biting. But now I am beginning to wonder...

His maternal uncle, who lives in the PRC, has pronounced classic Tourette's with throat clearing and facial grimmacing.

I saw a post mentioning transient Tourette's. Is this a condition where the Tourette's exhibits itself in varying ways ( e.g. moving from facial grimmacing to rapid blinking or something ) ?

Cheers,

[CheekyMonkey]

I've seen autistic kiddos do this as a form of stimming.

[namazu]

Obviously I can't diagnose anything, but...

Yes, many people with Tourette's will have tics that change over time. Some may be more constant, while others may stick around for a shorter time.

I don't know what "transient Tourette's" refers to. There is a diagnosis of "transient tic disorder" that refers to tics (taken all together) that don't persist over time. When tics are chronic (persisting >1 year)-- even if the exact tics change, but tics are still present -- then one of the chronic tic disorder diagnoses (including Tourette's, when motor and vocal tics have both been present) usually gets used.

I think sometimes kids will get a transient tic disorder diagnosis when the tics are first noticed, and some do outgrow it, but for others the diagnosis is kind of a temporary placeholder that gets replaced with Tourette's or "chronic motor tic disorder" or "chronic vocal tic disorder" when tics are still present after a year.

Even though Tourette's commonly runs in families (often with OCD as well), family members can be affected very differently, so even if your son does have tics or Tourette's, the expression of it may be different from that of his uncle.

Here's some info from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry:
http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=Tic+Di...s+for+Families

Best wishes!

[beltoller]

Thank you kindly for the link to the PDF. Interestingly enough, we recently reduced his ADHD med by 10mg and the tics have nearly disappeared.

But we've seen this before. They will likely rear their head in some form or another down the road. Something will bring it on...an emotional difficulty, a new problem or stress at school, the angle of the sun's rays hitting the ionosphere a few degrees east of the prime meridian...who knows?

Cheers,

[beltoller]

Originally Posted by CheekyMonkey

I've seen autistic kiddos do this as a form of stimming.

Stimming?

[Unmanagable]

I'm curious about this in adults, as well. Specifically, a cough that appears during times of high excitement or high stress situations. That cough can also lead to throwing up, if it's a scenario generating a lot of fear and nervousness. I was diagnosed as having a "nervous stomach", but it's more than that, in my opinion. Nervous stomach for the throwing up part, yes. But that didn't satisfy my curiosity of the cough.

[CheekyMonkey]

Originally Posted by beltoller

Stimming?

Self-stimulatory behavior. A lot of my kiddos flap hands, spin, etc. The eye one I've seen before, it's called "Eye gazing." I'm not sure if this is the same things as the OP has...just wanted to throw it out there.

[Harrier]

I do that when I am trying to visualize something. I knew I was visual, but this amazing SLP told me that I was visualize based solely on that. Pretty cool!

It doesn't sound like your son is doing this, but its worth considering. If that is what he is doing, it would be helpful information about how he processes. I am also a really weak auditory processor and often filter important auditory information, really important. So the little things can give you good information.

Have you asked him what he is doing?

[beltoller]

Originally Posted by Harrier

I do that when I am trying to visualize something. I knew I was visual, but this amazing SLP told me that I was visualize based solely on that. Pretty cool!

It doesn't sound like your son is doing this, but its worth considering. If that is what he is doing, it would be helpful information about how he processes. I am also a really weak auditory processor and often filter important auditory information, really important. So the little things can give you good information.

Have you asked him what he is doing?

Right. I know what yer refering to, lol. I do that as well - or at least when I'm trying to signify to someone that I'm giving what they're sayin' a think over.

Nah, this is/was more of a very rapid, uncontrolled eye movement - two times per second. Realise now its part of the OCD.

[britta1984]

Hi everyone, new here. I joined this site to also get some info on an eye issue. Im 28 and have had perfect eye site my whole life. On adderall for the last 2 years for add, but within the last 6-8 months i have developed a bit of an eye tic, it feels like i need to be constantly squinting my eyes, kinda feels like when u need to grit your teeth but its your eyes.no pain or dryness-tried drops Its worse when im nervous :?

[beltoller]

Originally Posted by britta1984

Hi everyone, new here. I joined this site to also get some info on an eye issue. Im 28 and have had perfect eye site my whole life. On adderall for the last 2 years for add, but within the last 6-8 months i have developed a bit of an eye tic, it feels like i need to be constantly squinting my eyes, kinda feels like when u need to grit your teeth but its your eyes.no pain or dryness-tried drops Its worse when im nervous :?

Britta, did you ever get a response? Sorry, this being a primarily female forum means that there are two or three martriarchs whose approval you have to have before the rest of the sheeps fee okay to respond to your post

Just kiddin' of course.

If you've managed a look around, you'll find that the sort of tics you are speaking of are quite common with ADHD meds. If they get bad enough, or migrate to more alarming forms such as facial grimmacing, etc., you might want to speak with your doctor about getting Clonidine, Tenex or something similar.

Cheers,

[LynneC]

Beltoller, just wanted to also comment on this thread re the tics. My son has had throat clearing tics (which at the time I thought were allergies), rapid eye-blinking tics and the latest, which is an odd movement of his head/neck, like he's trying to stretch a neck muscle. He doesn't know why he does it, just that his neck feels like it needs to stretch.

He had the throat-clearing tics well before starting stimulant meds, but meds made his tics worse.

His dev pediatrician told me that meds don't actually cause the tics, but rather just exacerbate the tic tendancy. This is what I've seen in my 10 year old. For many kids, the tics resolve on their own, apparently.

[CheekyMonkey]

Originally Posted by LynneC

Beltoller, just wanted to also comment on this thread re the tics. My son has had throat clearing tics (which at the time I thought were allergies), rapid eye-blinking tics and the latest, which is an odd movement of his head/neck, like he's trying to stretch a neck muscle. He doesn't know why he does it, just that his neck feels like it needs to stretch.

He had the throat-clearing tics well before starting stimulant meds, but meds made his tics worse.

His dev pediatrician told me that meds don't actually cause the tics, but rather just exacerbate the tic tendancy. This is what I've seen in my 10 year old. For many kids, the tics resolve on their own, apparently.

My husband started randomly having a facial tic a little over a month ago. His doctor said the same thing! I had no idea. His doctor said it was probably due to stress (the last month has been EXTREMELY stressful). He told us to wait it out as well.

[namazu]

Originally Posted by LynneC

He had the throat-clearing tics well before starting stimulant meds, but meds made his tics worse.

His dev pediatrician told me that meds don't actually cause the tics, but rather just exacerbate the tic tendancy. This is what I've seen in my 10 year old. For many kids, the tics resolve on their own, apparently.

Just to add to this...

It's true that tics sometimes happen "coincidentally". The ages at which kids with latent or emerging tic disorders (including Tourette's) start having tics, or having more tics, and the ages when kids are diagnosed with ADHD and start or change ADHD meds often overlap.

It doesn't necessarily mean the meds caused (or even exacerbated) the tics. This is especially likely if a kid has already had tics, or has a family history of Tourette's, tics, or possibly OCD.

Meds can sometimes worsen tics in people who already have them (but, for others with tics, meds seem to improve them -- hard to predict!).

There are also documented cases of people with no history of tics at all, who develop tics "out of the blue" shortly after starting ADHD meds or increasing the dose. For some of these people, the tics go away promptly when the dose is decreased or the meds are stopped, which suggests that the tics may in fact have been a side effect of the meds. It's not always coincidence or an "underlying tendency". (Though it often is.)

[mummyofthree]

My 9 year old son has tourettes, he was diagnosed at 2, some medications can cause 'tics' there's tic disorders, and tourettes,and kind of medicinal induced temporary tics, both are different, to be diagnosed with tourettes you have to have tics lasting I think a year if I remember rightly and has to include both motor and at least one vocal tic , these can be either simple or complex tics x