Re: Tics/OCD

February 17, 2008

Hi Colleen. My son has tics that come and go and they're usually "squirming" or verbal,,,,but in my opinion,,,,,I'd at least check out the meds that may help. We never wanted to use meds for Ian's ADHD/AS,,,,but when the "symptoms" started doing more harm than good,,,,,,,we decided to try. And though, we'd all prefer our kids NOT on something,,,,,,,,,,,,sometimes, we gotta be open to it. Our sons' issues had him doing things that, when younger, we handled at home and made allowances for. But, as he aged, it made him not fit in as well and he got sad. Anyway,,,,,,I guess what I'm "trying" to say,,,,,is that you have to weigh it all. If meds for your son would stop him from rubbing his eyes to the point of infection,,,,, is it worth it? There may be minor side effects, so you'd have to watch him. But, nowadays, there are so many options. If 1 doesn't work for you,,,there are others to

try. Again, this is just my opinion. Maybe you could also talk with a counselor for ideas for your son.....like redirecting (as you're now doing with him). So,,,,,Hope things get better for you and your son. Have a great day. RobinColleen Teitgen-Humphrey <cteitgen@...> wrote: I don't frequently post because my son is only 3.5 so we're stilllearning about his challenges. But he had been having a number offacial tics lately that concern us. He used to do some ear flapping

orlightly hitting himself on the cheek but that seems to have subsidedfor the most part. About six months ago he started having facialgrimaces compulsively. Just recently those have been replaced by himrubbing his eye compulsively. The poor boy is doing it so frequentlythat it's starting to get infected. I don't know what to do to try andprevent the behavior. He just doesn't seem to have any control overit. When he was diagnosed with HFA last year they said that he mayhave OCD as well. I'm not sure if this is something I should seekmedication for (I hate to at his young age) or if some other kind ofbehavioral therapy might work. Every time he does this we try toremind him to touch something else instead (like his tummy). From what I've read, oftentimes if you prevent one behavior anotherone will pop up in it's place. I would just like him to do somethingless harmful to his body. He is probably under more stress

right nowbecause I'm due to have a baby soon and have been on bed rest. So, theattention that he used to get from me has greatly diminished and I'msure that's hard for any kid to understand and deal with.Any insight into this problem would be appreciated.Thanks,Colleen

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February 17, 2008

Thanks for the response Robin. I'm wondering if you and others in the

group could recommend meds that have worked for your kids. My son

definitely seems to suffer from some kind of OCD and his tics seem to

get worse when he experiences anxiety. In general, his behavior is

pretty good -- he's affectionate, happy, VERY talkative with adults so

I would be looking for something that was specific to treating the

OCD/tic behavior. He also seems to display some ADHD behavior but

hasn't been diagnosed with that yet. Again, he's only 3.5

Any more insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Colleen

> I don't frequently post because my son is only 3.5 so

we're still

> learning about his challenges. But he had been having a number of

> facial tics lately that concern us. He used to do some ear flapping or

> lightly hitting himself on the cheek but that seems to have subsided

> for the most part. About six months ago he started having facial

> grimaces compulsively. Just recently those have been replaced by him

> rubbing his eye compulsively. The poor boy is doing it so frequently

> that it's starting to get infected. I don't know what to do to try and

> prevent the behavior. He just doesn't seem to have any control over

> it. When he was diagnosed with HFA last year they said that he may

> have OCD as well. I'm not sure if this is something I should seek

> medication for (I hate to at his young age) or if some other kind of

> behavioral therapy might work. Every time he does this we try to

> remind him to touch something else instead (like his tummy).

>

> From what I've read, oftentimes if you prevent one behavior another

> one will pop up in it's place. I would just like him to do something

> less harmful to his body. He is probably under more stress right now

> because I'm due to have a baby soon and have been on bed rest. So, the

> attention that he used to get from me has greatly diminished and I'm

> sure that's hard for any kid to understand and deal with.

>

> Any insight into this problem would be appreciated.

>

> Thanks,

> Colleen

>

> ---------------------------------

> Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

>

February 17, 2008

Hi. Well,,,,my son (11) takes Focalin xr for his ADHD. It's like night and day and he's still himself. My daughter (10) just started Zoloft last week for anxiety/ocd. So,,,,,,they say we probably won't see anything for 2 weeks or so. You'll see that lots of "spectrum disorders" run in families. Where there 1,,,,there's probably more. Hee hee. What fun. Anyway,,,,I'm sure there are others on this site who have much more history with OCD or anxiety meds. Good luck!! RobinColleen Teitgen-Humphrey <cteitgen@...> wrote: Thanks for the response Robin. I'm wondering if you and others in thegroup could recommend meds that have worked for your kids. My sondefinitely seems to suffer from some kind of OCD and his tics seem toget worse when he experiences anxiety. In general, his behavior ispretty good -- he's affectionate, happy, VERY talkative with adults soI would be looking for something that was specific to treating theOCD/tic behavior. He also seems to display some ADHD behavior buthasn't been diagnosed with that yet. Again, he's only 3.5Any more insight would be appreciated.Thanks,Colleen > I don't frequently post because my son is only 3.5 sowe're still> learning about his challenges. But he had been having a number of> facial tics lately that concern us. He used to do some ear flapping or> lightly hitting himself on the cheek but that seems to have subsided> for the most part. About six months ago he started having facial> grimaces compulsively. Just recently those have been replaced by him> rubbing his eye compulsively. The poor boy is doing it so frequently> that it's starting to get infected. I don't know what to do to try and> prevent the behavior. He just doesn't seem to have any control

over> it. When he was diagnosed with HFA last year they said that he may> have OCD as well. I'm not sure if this is something I should seek> medication for (I hate to at his young age) or if some other kind of> behavioral therapy might work. Every time he does this we try to> remind him to touch something else instead (like his tummy). > > From what I've read, oftentimes if you prevent one behavior another> one will pop up in it's place. I would just like him to do something> less harmful to his body. He is probably under more stress right now> because I'm due to have a baby soon and have been on bed rest. So, the> attention that he used to get from me has greatly diminished and I'm> sure that's hard for any kid to understand and deal with.> > Any insight into this problem would be appreciated.> > Thanks,> Colleen> > > >

> > > ---------------------------------> Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.>

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February 17, 2008

Have you tried any small manipulatives (like a stress ball, etc) for your son to utilize instead of touching his face? You may also want to talk to an occupational therapist about setting up a sensory diet for him. Pam :)Delicious ideas to please the pickiest eaters. Watch the video on AOL Living.

February 18, 2008

Tenex is sometimes great with tics.

You can also have him wear a glove of some sort if it would prevent him from touching his eyes. I'm trying to imagine it and I think he'd probably still do it with a glove on. What do you think? I work with a little guy who has OCD/tics and he actually was eating his hand. He would latch on and chomp. The skin was getting to look deformed from being constantly chewed on. We spent a lot of time pulling his hand out of his mouth whenever we saw it, we said, "Hands down" a lot, and what really worked was having him wear a glove. He hated wearing that glove with a passion at first. We would have to wrestle him into it many times. And it took maybe a year of constant redirection and wearing the glove before he is not so committed to eating that hand. I played with him over the weekend and he tried to eat his hand a few times - he hadn't done it in a long time. So I think he was stressing out a little. But it was easy to make him stop.

If you do change one behavior, he may come up with another one! It is a good idea if you can find a similar "habit" and kind of redirect him to do that instead. Pam had a good idea too by using some stress balls - he might like squeezing those. Sometimes they are really addicting.

Good luck with the baby!

RoxannaAutism Happens

( ) Tics/OCD

I don't frequently post because my son is only 3.5 so we're stilllearning about his challenges. But he had been having a number offacial tics lately that concern us. He used to do some ear flapping orlightly hitting himself on the cheek but that seems to have subsidedfor the most part. About six months ago he started having facialgrimaces compulsively. Just recently those have been replaced by himrubbing his eye compulsively. The poor boy is doing it so frequentlythat it's starting to get infected. I don't know what to do to try andprevent the behavior. He just doesn't seem to have any control overit. When he was diagnosed with HFA last year they said that he mayhave OCD as well. I'm not sure if this is something I should seekmedication for (I hate to at his young age) or if some other kind ofbehavioral therapy might work. Every time he does this we try toremind him to touch something else instead (like his tummy). From what I've read, oftentimes if you prevent one behavior anotherone will pop up in it's place. I would just like him to do somethingless harmful to his body. He is probably under more stress right nowbecause I'm due to have a baby soon and have been on bed rest. So, theattention that he used to get from me has greatly diminished and I'msure that's hard for any kid to understand and deal with.Any insight into this problem would be appreciated.Thanks,Colleen

February 19, 2008

Hi Roxanna and Pam,

Thanks for your suggestions. A stress ball or some other manipulative

is a great idea. I think we'll try that. I'm guessing that my son

would not stand for a glove. It took us almost 2 years to get him to

wear socks not inside out. So he's sensitive to clothing.

Pam, you suggested diet might have something to do with this? I wasn't

aware that this was something an OT could work with. I know that they

can work with eating problems but I didn't know they could give advice

on diet. Are there special types of OTs who work in this area? He is

seeing an OT through school right now and I need to talk with her

about this particular tic.

Thanks again for the advice.

Colleen

>

> Tenex is sometimes great with tics.

>

> You can also have him wear a glove of some sort if it would prevent

him from touching his eyes. I'm trying to imagine it and I think he'd

probably still do it with a glove on. What do you think? I work with

a little guy who has OCD/tics and he actually was eating his hand. He

would latch on and chomp. The skin was getting to look deformed from

being constantly chewed on. We spent a lot of time pulling his hand

out of his mouth whenever we saw it, we said, " Hands down " a lot, and

what really worked was having him wear a glove. He hated wearing that

glove with a passion at first. We would have to wrestle him into it

many times. And it took maybe a year of constant redirection and

wearing the glove before he is not so committed to eating that hand.

I played with him over the weekend and he tried to eat his hand a few

times - he hadn't done it in a long time. So I think he was stressing

out a little. But it was easy to make him stop.

>

> If you do change one behavior, he may come up with another one! It

is a good idea if you can find a similar " habit " and kind of redirect

him to do that instead. Pam had a good idea too by using some stress

balls - he might like squeezing those. Sometimes they are really

addicting.

>

> Good luck with the baby!

>

> Roxanna

> Autism Happens

> ( ) Tics/OCD

>

> I don't frequently post because my son is only 3.5 so we're still