Throat-clearing,
twirling, eye-blinking -- an odd childhood tic is often just a passing phase.
Here's how to know whether your child's habit is a sign of something serious.
When Amy Rea's son, Michael, was 10 years old, he started
making a funny little sound in the back of his throat. The Eden Prairie, MN,
mom chalked the sound up to a sore throat or the common cold, but it persisted
for several weeks, and Michael claimed he felt fine. Then Amy learned that one
of Michael's classmates had asked to be moved to another desk on the other side
of the classroom because the throat-clearing was disrupting his concentration.
Another classmate commented that Michael sounded like her cat. Amy started
pointing out the noise to Michael whenever he made it at home, and asking him
to stop, but focusing on the habit only seemed to make it worse. That's when
she decided it was time to take her son to the doctor.
"I was afraid Michael had Tourette's syndrome,"
says Amy. "I was so relieved when the doctor said that lots of kids
develop tics, and that if we ignored it, it would probably just go away."
Ignoring it was hard at first, but after a while, the family got so accustomed
to Michael's throat-clearing that they stopped noticing it altogether. One day,
about four months later, Amy realized he had stopped.Ten percent to 20 percent
of school-age children will exhibit transient tics, which can range from
something as seemingly harmless as blinking or throat-clearing to more
disruptive habits such as twirling or head-jerking. Tics are experienced as a
buildup of tension -- a physical need to perform the tic -- that goes away only
after that urge is satisfied. Fortunately, the majority of tics are transient;
they typically disappear on their own within weeks, says Lawrence Scahill,
Ph.D., a professor of nursing and child psychiatry at Yale University. In fact,
less than 1 percent of kids actually have Tourette's syndrome (TS), a lifelong
neurological disorder characterized by persistent ticcing.
What to look for: If a tic lingers for several months, if
it becomes more frequent, or if it moves to another body part -- for instance,
sniffling turns into yelping -- it may signal TS, so see your pediatrician.
She'll take a history of your child's behavior and, pairing that with what she
observes during the exam, determine whether it's necessary to see a TS
specialist.Tics are also sometimes associated with other disorders, such as
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD(it's estimated that tics
appear in less than 5 percent of ADHD cases), and obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD), which affects less than 1 percent of young kids. Both are treatable with
drugs and behavioral therapy, so see your doctor if you notice other telltale
symptoms. For instance, kids with ADHD tend to be restless and overactive,
whereas those with OCD are unreasonably anxious.
No matter what's behind your child's tic, chances are
that a year from now you'll remember it as just another part of his growing up.
But the wait-and-see period can be trying for him and you. Here, some tips to
help the whole family cope.
Don't tell your child to stop ticcing.
"They don't know what they're doing, and they can't
control it," says Tracy Marsh, author/editor of Children
With Tourette Syndrome: A Parents' Guide. "Telling kids to stop
ticcing makes them feel like there's something wrong with them, and that stress
can make tics worse." Try your best to ignore the tics -- when one
happens, remind yourself that "This too shall pass," and reflect on
one of your child's most endearing traits (such as the way he protects his
little sister).
Find ways to tame kids' tension.
While experts are still working to understand why tics
develop in the first place, they do know that both excitement and stress
generate physical and emotional arousal and make tics worse. "For kids
with tic disorders, Disneyland is as tough as a test at school," says
psychiatrist John T. Walkup, M.D., of Johns Hopkins Children's Center. So reduce
stress by making your home a place where your child can relax and totally be
himself -- which means letting him know that he doesn't have to try to squelch
his tics. Some parents also find that their kids' tics decrease when they're
listening to music or concentrating on a puzzle, says Marsh, so experiment with
different activities until you find the ones that soothe your child, and try to
give him an hour each day to enjoy them. And when there's an exciting or
stressful event coming up, prepare your child by walking him through it ahead
of time: Explain what to expect, and what he can do to stay calm, such as
taking deep breaths or listening to his MP3 player.
Steer clear of caffeine.
Anecdotal evidence from parents suggests that eliminating
caffeine and excess sugar from kids' diets, as well as encouraging them to stay
active, may help reduce tics. The reason: Caffeine causes jitteriness that can
make tics worse. And exercise is proved to help relieve stress, another tic
intensifier.
Teach teachers about tics.
Helping teachers distinguish between a tic and bad
behavior will make it easier for them to be sensitive to the situation while
still treating your kid like any other -- which is what he really wants and
needs. Set up a meeting with your child's teachers to explain what tics are,
and ask them to alert you if your child is having trouble concentrating or is
being teased. Also, point out that holding tics back can build tension and
eventually make them worse, so it's important to let tics happen without
classmates making negative comments. You and your kid's teachers need to
remember that not all misbehavior can be attributed to a tic: Your child should
get a little extra leeway, but not a free pass to act out.
Help kids handle teasing.
A tic can be a bull's-eye for a bully, and any subsequent
name-calling, mimicking, and abuse can do lingering damage to your child's
self-esteem. "When a child realizes others are noticing the tics, he gets
the notion that tics are 'bad' -- and that he's bad for having them," says
Scahill.To help your child deal with bullies, start by suggesting that he
ignore any teasing. If that doesn't work, he can try using a neutral statement,
such as, "I don't jerk my head on purpose -- my body does it on its own,
like the hiccups." Role-play different scenarios to help him practice
responses.And remind your child that everyone has quirks -- even point out one
of your own: Knowing that he's not so different will make getting through the
tic period easier
How real moms help their kids cope with tics.
"I've told my 7-year-old son, Max, to say, 'It makes
my body feel better' if anyone asks about his head turning. I don't even think
he knows the word 'tic' -- he just knows he needs to move sometimes."
-Debbie Feit, 39, Farmington, MI
"My 12-year-old daughter, Madison, was diagnosed
with Tourette's when she was 5. We've taught her that while some kids need
glasses or leg braces or have problems with their heart, she has tics. It's
part of who she is, not unlike having vision problems. She explains it this way
to kids who ask about her tics or make fun of her, and they almost always
understand."
-Tracy Johnson, 38, Casa Grande, AZ
"At first, I told my 9-year-old daughter, Kim, to
handle her tics however she needed to. So when she was having her arm tic she
would act like she had dropped something, or during a shoulder-shrugging tic
she'd pretend she had a muscle cramp. But it got to the point where she was
spending a lot of time coming up with ways to hide her tics. So I told her to
just explain that she had to do these things, just like others had to blink or
sneeze sometimes. That advice did work for her, and as she gained acceptance
from her peers, she quit trying to hide her habits. And the tics seem to have
passed now."
—Brenda Ramont, 31, Vandalia, OH
By Linda Formichelli, Mar 31, 2007
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