Re: question about tics

[Guest guest]

My son was diagnosed with Aspergers a few years ago, he also has tics, at first we thought it was related to taking stimulants, but when he is off the stimulants the tics do continue. His pediatrician sent us to the neurologist and from there my son was diagnosed with turrets. The Doctor said a diagnosis of turrets is usually given when the tics last for a least a year and are a constant. The neurologist prescribed Tenex which helps, if my son goes with out the Tenex I notice a lot more ticking. I have heard from other parents and Doctors that it is not unusual for Aspergers kids to have tics. If your child is bothered by the tics I would definitely consult your doctor for a treatment plan to help ease the tics.

[Guest guest]

My son has been on stimulants since he was 5-yrs-old, but he has only taken them during the school day (no evenings/weekends/holidays/summer) so this hasn't been continual use day in and day out. Last year I started thinking maybe he was developing tics due to the Daytrana patch he was taking and our psychiatrist asked me a few questions about when they started (end of the school year) and she decided to watch and see. Next time we saw her, he'd changed the vocal "tics" and moved on to motor "tics" but she pointed out they started end of school and continued throughout the summertime when he was on no stimulant medication. Then I started learning more about stimming on here and I've decided that what he's doing is stimming, not displaying tics. It makes more sense b/c of how/when the vocal/motor stuff started. He's started doing it more the past week or two (about the

same time they started last year) and I think it's directly related to stress about school ending in about 6 weeks. Not that he's sad to be out of school, but it's a transition and I know it adds to his stress/anxiety levels and that seems to effect the vocal/motor stuff. The psychiatrist doesn't think it's related to the stimulants though b/c it happens w/ or w/out the meds. And also, he seems to pick up these little habits (now I call them stims) and they come and go in his life. He used to pick his nose quite often in early elementary school but that's pretty rare now. But he started chewing on the little hairs on the tops of his fingers when he was in the 3rd or 4th grade and that has continued. He also used to bite his fingernails quite a bit but that has decreased. Hard to know what we're going to get on any given

day!

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

From: ~~ <mayprincess77@...> Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 2:35:47 PMSubject: ( ) question about tics

Thanks ! And thanks for the recommendation

I do have a "situation", that maybe someone has some experience with. I'm concerned that might have started "ticing" (sp?) - he keeps opening his mouth really wide, like he's stretching it, and he has no control over it and he does it at least several times an hour. He's quite bothered by it, too.

He had been on Ritalin for over a year and then we started with Concerta last August. Has anyone else's child developed tics while being on Concerta?

I made an appt with his pediatrician, but it's not until next Tuesday afternoon (which isn't horrible, I guess).

( ) newbie

Hi everyone,I just joined this group on the advice of a friend. My name is and I'm from Ottawa, Canada.My son is 12 and we've always had issues with him. He's been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. But I'm starting to wonder if there's a possibility that there's more to it than that, so I'm here to get more information and support.Looking forward to learning from you

[Guest guest]



Hi ,

Thanks for your reply! How old is your son now?

Can you tell me more about stimming? I'm not familiar with that term. And how do you deal with it? I'm guessing that pointing out to him that he's doing it doesn't help? (My fiance has been doing this, and it just pisses off more! :S )

I can't really identify any new or worsening stress/anxiety that he's been experiencing lately, so I'm not sure what would be causing it. It's also really bothering him (it's irritating the skin around his mouth) so the sooner we can help him do something about it, the better.

Re: ( ) question about tics

My son has been on stimulants since he was 5-yrs-old, but he has only taken them during the school day (no evenings/weekends/holidays/summer) so this hasn't been continual use day in and day out. Last year I started thinking maybe he was developing tics due to the Daytrana patch he was taking and our psychiatrist asked me a few questions about when they started (end of the school year) and she decided to watch and see. Next time we saw her, he'd changed the vocal "tics" and moved on to motor "tics" but she pointed out they started end of school and continued throughout the summertime when he was on no stimulant medication. Then I started learning more about stimming on here and I've decided that what he's doing is stimming, not displaying tics. It makes more sense b/c of how/when the vocal/motor stuff started. He's started doing it more the past week or two (about the same time they started last year) and I think it's directly related to stress about school ending in about 6 weeks. Not that he's sad to be out of school, but it's a transition and I know it adds to his stress/anxiety levels and that seems to effect the vocal/motor stuff. The psychiatrist doesn't think it's related to the stimulants though b/c it happens w/ or w/out the meds. And also, he seems to pick up these little habits (now I call them stims) and they come and go in his life. He used to pick his nose quite often in early elementary school but that's pretty rare now. But he started chewing on the little hairs on the tops of his fingers when he was in the 3rd or 4th grade and that has continued. He also used to bite his fingernails quite a bit but that has decreased. Hard to know what we're going to get on any given day!

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

[Guest guest]

Thanks. We have an appointment with the doctor on Tuesday. He's not diagnosed with Aspergers, though. I'm just beginning to have inklings that he *may* have it. I need to do more research and ask his doctor about it.

Re: ( ) question about tics

My son was diagnosed with Aspergers a few years ago, he also has tics, at first we thought it was related to taking stimulants, but when he is off the stimulants the tics do continue. His pediatrician sent us to the neurologist and from there my son was diagnosed with turrets. The Doctor said a diagnosis of turrets is usually given when the tics last for a least a year and are a constant. The neurologist prescribed Tenex which helps, if my son goes with out the Tenex I notice a lot more ticking. I have heard from other parents and Doctors that it is not unusual for Aspergers kids to have tics. If your child is bothered by the tics I would definitely consult your doctor for a treatment plan to help ease the tics.

[Guest guest]

My son is 12. Not sure exactly how stimming is related to "stereotypy" or "perseveration" but check out what I found on eMedicine about symptoms kids w/ Aspergers can display below...

These behavioral symptoms may include anxiety, attention problems, aggression, behavioral rigidity, mood disorders (particularly depression), and stereotypy (constant repetition of certain meaningless gestures or movement) or perseveration (constant repetition of meaningless words or phrases).

For my son, he has problems w/ anxiety, attention, rigidity (when playing with kids mostly), stereotypy and perseveration. Not sure how stimming is different from the last two, but that's what my son does. Although I guess "meaningless" could be subject for interpretation =)

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

From: ~~ <mayprincess77@...> Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 5:10:37 PMSubject: Re: ( ) question about tics

 Hi ,

Thanks for your reply! How old is your son now?

Can you tell me more about stimming? I'm not familiar with that term. And how do you deal with it? I'm guessing that pointing out to him that he's doing it doesn't help? (My fiance has been doing this, and it just pisses off more! :S )

I can't really identify any new or worsening stress/anxiety that he's been experiencing lately, so I'm not sure what would be causing it. It's also really bothering him (it's irritating the skin around his mouth) so the sooner we can help him do something about it, the better.

Re: ( ) question about tics

My son has been on stimulants since he was 5-yrs-old, but he has only taken them during the school day (no evenings/weekends/ holidays/ summer) so this hasn't been continual use day in and day out. Last year I started thinking maybe he was developing tics due to the Daytrana patch he was taking and our psychiatrist asked me a few questions about when they started (end of the school year) and she decided to watch and see. Next time we saw her, he'd changed the vocal "tics" and moved on to motor "tics" but she pointed out they started end of school and continued throughout the summertime when he was on no stimulant medication. Then I started learning more about stimming on here and I've decided that what he's doing is stimming, not displaying tics. It makes more sense b/c of how/when the vocal/motor stuff started. He's started doing it more the past week or two (about the

same time they started last year) and I think it's directly related to stress about school ending in about 6 weeks. Not that he's sad to be out of school, but it's a transition and I know it adds to his stress/anxiety levels and that seems to effect the vocal/motor stuff. The psychiatrist doesn't think it's related to the stimulants though b/c it happens w/ or w/out the meds. And also, he seems to pick up these little habits (now I call them stims) and they come and go in his life. He used to pick his nose quite often in early elementary school but that's pretty rare now. But he started chewing on the little hairs on the tops of his fingers when he was in the 3rd or 4th grade and that has continued. He also used to bite his fingernails quite a bit but that has decreased. Hard to know what we're going to get on any given

day!

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

[Guest guest]

One more thing...how we deal with it...just depends. If we're in public, I try to get him to be more aware of what he's doing and stop it immediately b/c socially it doesn't win him any points. When we're at home, I just try to ignore it whenever I can because it almost seems like a way for him to "relax", but that can be very difficult. If it's something that might cause him physical harm, I will try to get him to do something else to get his mind off of it which can help. Wish I had a better "always works" piece of advice for you but it seems like it's a lot of little things that you have to try over and over again and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I can tell you if he's making noises or talking to himself (like blurting out words while he's reading when nobody is in the room with him) I'll ask him to "please be quiet" instead of to "stop making noise." Since he tends to get

stuck on things easily, I think it's better to use the power of suggestion and leave him with "quiet" than leave him w/ "noise". Know what I mean?

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

From: ~~ <mayprincess77@...> Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 5:10:37 PMSubject: Re: ( ) question about tics

 Hi ,

Thanks for your reply! How old is your son now?

Can you tell me more about stimming? I'm not familiar with that term. And how do you deal with it? I'm guessing that pointing out to him that he's doing it doesn't help? (My fiance has been doing this, and it just pisses off more! :S )

I can't really identify any new or worsening stress/anxiety that he's been experiencing lately, so I'm not sure what would be causing it. It's also really bothering him (it's irritating the skin around his mouth) so the sooner we can help him do something about it, the better.

Re: ( ) question about tics

My son has been on stimulants since he was 5-yrs-old, but he has only taken them during the school day (no evenings/weekends/ holidays/ summer) so this hasn't been continual use day in and day out. Last year I started thinking maybe he was developing tics due to the Daytrana patch he was taking and our psychiatrist asked me a few questions about when they started (end of the school year) and she decided to watch and see. Next time we saw her, he'd changed the vocal "tics" and moved on to motor "tics" but she pointed out they started end of school and continued throughout the summertime when he was on no stimulant medication. Then I started learning more about stimming on here and I've decided that what he's doing is stimming, not displaying tics. It makes more sense b/c of how/when the vocal/motor stuff started. He's started doing it more the past week or two (about the

same time they started last year) and I think it's directly related to stress about school ending in about 6 weeks. Not that he's sad to be out of school, but it's a transition and I know it adds to his stress/anxiety levels and that seems to effect the vocal/motor stuff. The psychiatrist doesn't think it's related to the stimulants though b/c it happens w/ or w/out the meds. And also, he seems to pick up these little habits (now I call them stims) and they come and go in his life. He used to pick his nose quite often in early elementary school but that's pretty rare now. But he started chewing on the little hairs on the tops of his fingers when he was in the 3rd or 4th grade and that has continued. He also used to bite his fingernails quite a bit but that has decreased. Hard to know what we're going to get on any given

day!

"Over-optimism is waiting for you ship to come in when you haven't sent one out."

[Guest guest]

How did the doc visit go? Did he discuss tics with you?

Roxanna

"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." ~ Mark Twain

RE: ( ) newbie

Hi This group is amazing… highly informative and completely, 100% supportive. Doesn’t matter how bad of a day you’ve had with Bay, you can come here and people will “get it”, which feels soooo good Welcome, hun! I hope you find answers !!

=)

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 12:29 PM Subject: ( ) newbie

Hi everyone,I just joined this group on the advice of a friend. My name is and I'm from Ottawa, Canada.My son is 12 and we've always had issues with him. He's been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. But I'm starting to wonder if there's a possibility that there's more to it than that, so I'm here to get more information and support.Looking forward to learning from you

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