5 yr old son has started twitching
mdfisher23
My son just turned 5 and I've noticed over the past three weeks that he has been twitching and shrugging his shoulders a lot at different times. When I read to him he does it alot, and also when he's on the computer. Other times it just seems random. He says he can't control it, and is not bothered by it nor in pain. I think my hubby and I are more bothered or - worried is a better word. He will be seeing his dr. for a checkup in a couple of weeks and I plan to bring it up to her, but I thought I'd ask the list to see if anyone had any thoughts or similar experiences.
Thank you!
Marcia
Thank you!
Marcia
Megan
My daughter has done this for a couple of years. It will be shoulder shrugging for a while, then slowly she switches to doing something with her lips, then something else. She does it when she is listening to me read or some other quiet activity. I think she just likes the way it feels. Sensory input or something. She is not bothered by it, so I'm not worried about her. My older son blinks too much and it does bother him some. Not sure about that one. Megan
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Su Penn
On May 21, 2009, at 8:00 PM, mdfisher23 wrote:
years...I can't even remember what all they were now. After checking
in with Eric ("Are your eyes bothering you? Do they itch?") as you
have, we just let them be. Each one has faded after awhile. He's about
to turn 8 and I don't think he has any right now.
Su
> My son just turned 5 and I've noticed over the past three weeks thatMy older son Eric has had a variety of twitches and tics over the
> he has been twitching and shrugging his shoulders a lot at different
> times. When I read to him he does it alot, and also when he's on
> the computer. Other times it just seems random. He says he can't
> control it, and is not bothered by it nor in pain. I think my hubby
> and I are more bothered or - worried is a better word. He will be
> seeing his dr. for a checkup in a couple of weeks and I plan to
> bring it up to her, but I thought I'd ask the list to see if anyone
> had any thoughts or similar experiences.
years...I can't even remember what all they were now. After checking
in with Eric ("Are your eyes bothering you? Do they itch?") as you
have, we just let them be. Each one has faded after awhile. He's about
to turn 8 and I don't think he has any right now.
Su
Tom Hall
> On May 21, 2009, at 8:00 PM, mdfisher23 wrote:My son has also had a variety of twitchy things come and go over the
>
> > My son just turned 5 and I've noticed over the past three weeks that
> > he has been twitching and shrugging his shoulders a lot at different
> > times. When I read to him he does it alot, and also when he's on
> > the computer. Other times it just seems random. He says he can't
> > control it, and is not bothered by it nor in pain. I think my hubby
> > and I are more bothered or - worried is a better word. He will be
> > seeing his dr. for a checkup in a couple of weeks and I plan to
> > bring it up to her, but I thought I'd ask the list to see if anyone
> > had any thoughts or similar experiences.
>
years. I did do some research on it. It is fairly common for children to
have them, and they almost always resolve over time. The consensus seems
to be that making them an issue usually makes it worse.
In his case they usually begin as a reaction to some kind of physical
stress (like sinus problem, allergies, tension in the shoulders) and
then become a habit.
If it started from some kind of physical stress, we remove the stress
(clear up the sinuses, get a prescription for the allergies, remind him
to take stretching breaks or massage his shoulders for him if he was
engaged in a very long game or drawing or computer session) and the
twitches would usually resolve after awhile.
If it seems to be uncomfortable for him, we ask if he needs any help
with it. Usually the answer is no.
I am twitchy myself, so I am not surprised that he is. Even though I
have mostly internalized my "twitches", (in the form of constantly
running musical passages through my head), I am still twitchy enough on
the outside that my wife will often bring something I am doing, like
jiggling my foot, to my attention. So I also suspect that those people
that do not grow out of the twitchiness mostly finds ways to channel it
that do not draw so much attention.
-Tom
[email protected]
Hi Marcia,
My son Cody, who is now almost 19, had quite an assortment of tics and twitches, from the time he was around 7 or 8 to his mid teens. Some were rather elaborate and included vocalizations and sounds in the back of his throat. (He also wet the bed the entire time, which I learned sometimes goes hand-in-hand with tic behaviors.) In the beginning, we were very worried and certain that he had Tourette's or some kind of tic disorder. Thankfully his doctor reassured us that it was fairly common and advised us to take a wait-and-see attitude. He suggested that we completely ignore the tics; he felt that calling attention to them would make the problem worse.
Over the years, we saw the tics come and go in cycles. Just when a particular one was fading, another one would crop up. They were definitely more pronounced in times of stress, and most noticeable if he was idly doing something like watching tv. They would disappear completely if he was absorbed in something like playing his guitar or a video game.
Anyway, they gradually faded and completely disappeared by the time he was 16 or so (as did the bedwetting). I know that seems a long time to wait if your child is only 5! I know other children whose tic behaviors lasted a much shorter time than Cody's. I just wanted to reassure you that it's very common and that most cases simply fade away in time if you don't call attention to it. Don't worry! :)
Denise
www.smartingusup.blogspot.com
My son Cody, who is now almost 19, had quite an assortment of tics and twitches, from the time he was around 7 or 8 to his mid teens. Some were rather elaborate and included vocalizations and sounds in the back of his throat. (He also wet the bed the entire time, which I learned sometimes goes hand-in-hand with tic behaviors.) In the beginning, we were very worried and certain that he had Tourette's or some kind of tic disorder. Thankfully his doctor reassured us that it was fairly common and advised us to take a wait-and-see attitude. He suggested that we completely ignore the tics; he felt that calling attention to them would make the problem worse.
Over the years, we saw the tics come and go in cycles. Just when a particular one was fading, another one would crop up. They were definitely more pronounced in times of stress, and most noticeable if he was idly doing something like watching tv. They would disappear completely if he was absorbed in something like playing his guitar or a video game.
Anyway, they gradually faded and completely disappeared by the time he was 16 or so (as did the bedwetting). I know that seems a long time to wait if your child is only 5! I know other children whose tic behaviors lasted a much shorter time than Cody's. I just wanted to reassure you that it's very common and that most cases simply fade away in time if you don't call attention to it. Don't worry! :)
Denise
www.smartingusup.blogspot.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "mdfisher23" <mfisher@...>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:00:58 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] 5 yr old son has started twitching
My son just turned 5 and I've noticed over the past three weeks that he has been twitching and shrugging his shoulders a lot at different times. When I read to him he does it alot, and also when he's on the computer. Other times it just seems random. He says he can't control it, and is not bothered by it nor in pain. I think my hubby and I are more bothered or - worried is a better word. He will be seeing his dr. for a checkup in a couple of weeks and I plan to bring it up to her, but I thought I'd ask the list to see if anyone had any thoughts or similar experiences.
Thank you!
Marcia
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pam Sorooshian
On 5/22/2009 7:08 AM, Tom Hall wrote:
our heads - behind whatever else is going on there is music. I have
always had that and assumed everyone had something like it. People
sometimes talk about getting a certain tune in their heads and not being
able to get rid of it -- it is like that, but pretty much all the time.
tension release, but she'd sometimes do it a lot and I know there were
people who looked at her funny and probably thought of autism or
something. So - it faded away and I don't remember when... but she's 21
and the other day it came up when we saw a little kid doing it almost
just like she had. She said, "I still do it.' I said, "I haven't seen
you do it in years." She said, "I still have the urge, but I kind of
just do it in my head."
-pam
> I am twitchy myself, so I am not surprised that he is. Even though IMy daughters and I all have almost constant musical soundtracks going in
> have mostly internalized my "twitches", (in the form of constantly
> running musical passages through my head),
our heads - behind whatever else is going on there is music. I have
always had that and assumed everyone had something like it. People
sometimes talk about getting a certain tune in their heads and not being
able to get rid of it -- it is like that, but pretty much all the time.
> I am still twitchy enough onRoxana used to shake her hands in a certain way - it was clearly a
> the outside that my wife will often bring something I am doing, like
> jiggling my foot, to my attention. So I also suspect that those people
> that do not grow out of the twitchiness mostly finds ways to channel it
> that do not draw so much attention.
>
tension release, but she'd sometimes do it a lot and I know there were
people who looked at her funny and probably thought of autism or
something. So - it faded away and I don't remember when... but she's 21
and the other day it came up when we saw a little kid doing it almost
just like she had. She said, "I still do it.' I said, "I haven't seen
you do it in years." She said, "I still have the urge, but I kind of
just do it in my head."
-pam
Beth Fleming
"I still have the urge, but I kind of
just do it in my head."
-pam
This reminded me of something my oldest (now 12) used to do when she was 5 or 6 and learning to write words. She's spell everything in the air with her finger. If you didn't know what she was doing, I'm sure it would've looked twitchy and odd. Now, at age 12, she still spells words, only on the back of her teeth with her tongue....much less prominent and noticeable. Funny....she told me last night that she had become a really good speller as of late.... :)
Beth in Ma
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
just do it in my head."
-pam
This reminded me of something my oldest (now 12) used to do when she was 5 or 6 and learning to write words. She's spell everything in the air with her finger. If you didn't know what she was doing, I'm sure it would've looked twitchy and odd. Now, at age 12, she still spells words, only on the back of her teeth with her tongue....much less prominent and noticeable. Funny....she told me last night that she had become a really good speller as of late.... :)
Beth in Ma
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
g-liberatedlearning
I'll add my son to the growing list of kids who have lived with tics
and grown out of them. Zach started rolling his eyes around the age
of 8. We had the optometrist check him out and the pediatrician. They
found nothing wrong with him. Around the same time he was licking his
lips a lot -- so much so that they were getting very chapped. That
was about the same time our homeschooling relationship reached it's
peak of antagonism. I began to recognize these behaviors as his
reaction to stress and resolved to no longer be his primary source of
stress. I embraced radical unschooling and began incorporating more
freedom into his life. The behaviors slowly disappeared.
He also did the hand-shaking thing that Pam mentioned, but I don't
think it was related to bad stress for him. He still has an urge to
do it whenever he is particularly focused and excited about something
-- usually a video-game or intense scene in a movie.
Chris in IA
and grown out of them. Zach started rolling his eyes around the age
of 8. We had the optometrist check him out and the pediatrician. They
found nothing wrong with him. Around the same time he was licking his
lips a lot -- so much so that they were getting very chapped. That
was about the same time our homeschooling relationship reached it's
peak of antagonism. I began to recognize these behaviors as his
reaction to stress and resolved to no longer be his primary source of
stress. I embraced radical unschooling and began incorporating more
freedom into his life. The behaviors slowly disappeared.
He also did the hand-shaking thing that Pam mentioned, but I don't
think it was related to bad stress for him. He still has an urge to
do it whenever he is particularly focused and excited about something
-- usually a video-game or intense scene in a movie.
Chris in IA
> My son just turned 5 and I've noticed over the past three weeks that[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> he has been twitching and shrugging his shoulders a lot at different
> times. When I read to him he does it alot, and also when he's on the
> computer. Other times it just seems random. He says he can't control
> it, and is not bothered by it nor in pain. I think my hubby and I
> are more bothered or - worried is a better word. He will be seeing
> his dr. for a checkup in a couple of weeks and I plan to bring it up
> to her, but I thought I'd ask the list to see if anyone had any
> thoughts or similar experiences.
[email protected]
>>>> He also did the hand-shaking thing that Pam mentioned, but I don'tthink it was related to bad stress for him. He still has an urge to
do it whenever he is particularly focused and excited about something
-- usually a video-game or intense scene in a movie. <<<<
Oh I agree. It's not always stress that makes tics. Some motions just
feel good. Jiggling my foot sometimes gives me a focal point while I'm
thinking through something "knotty" (not a social activity though,
true). I click my thumbs because I like to but I hope I don't bother
anybody with it (also not a social activity). Some of these things are
actually considered to be some form of exercise (foot jiggling for
instance).
Just because it makes someone else uncomfortable doesn't mean the
person doing it is uncomfortable.
Maybe tics increase because they're comforting in times of stress.
Seems likely to me.
~Katherine