6 Year Old with Twitching Problem

It sounds like Tourette's. Many people are familiar with Tourette's people that yell out obscenities, but it's very common for minor versions of Tourette's to have eye blinking or other ticks.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tourette-syndrome/ds0054...

According to the Mayo Clinic signs usually start between ages 7-10. Risk Factors include a premature birth or a family history. You could read through their info and see if you see any other symptoms that sound familiar.

My friends husband has Tourette's and just has physical tics. He is completely functional, it doesn't interfere with his life. (Just so you know)

Good luck Mom.

My oldest son has had tics since he was 2. It peaked when he was in junior high. We took him to a neurologist and discussed medicating it. We decided not to medicate. He is now 19 and still has a minor tic. It is exacerbated when he is stressed out or competing or plaing video games. It has not caused any significant problems in his life and he is still eligible to be in the military with it. I was told it is not Tourettes because he has no verbal tics, only physical ones. If you choose to medicate, research the side effects. The meds they suggested for my son had side effects worse than what he was suffering from, which included weight gain, drooling, depression and other tics. I discussed it with him as an adult (he was 12 at the time) and he said, why would I want to do that to myself? And we opted to not do anything. My uncle had it too and he outgrew it as an adult.

My son had the same problem at the same age. For my son, it turned out to be food allergies. Mold also caused this. We had to get rid of our mold problem and I had to keep him away from gluten. Gluten allergies can cause neurological problems. I found this out by going to a homeopathic doc and by my own research. The ER docs and his regular doctor said it wasn't seizures, like we thought and didn't have an answer or cure. Once we figured it out, it took awhile for these to subside completely but eventually they went completely away. Good luck to you!

Make an appointment with a neurologist. Tourette does not have to manefest with verbal tics to be diagnosable, and that you already know he has anxiety should be two reasons to see a professional.

I would not wait.

M.

my sis's kids did/do this. the oldest is about to turn 8 and i think she has finally grown out of it. she started the continuous blinking and the dr said it was a twitch and to ignore it. the more my sis called her out on it, the more she did it. after ignoring it, she finally stopped. now my nephew has started doing it too and i just realized that my sis does it too when she is anxious. i guess the kids picked up on it.

I agree with Heather A. it does sound like Tourette's and it is something that is not to be ashamed of!!!

Someone I love has it and I would have never known unless I was told about it and this person is very successful with family,friends,work.

What you need to do is get your son to a Pediatric Neurologist for a formal diagnosis. Also the most common "trigger" is Stress/Anxiety.
Good Luck

My 6 year old also has been having the same type of twitching. It started when he was 5 with the compulsive twitching, but he has always been unique. He is very bright as well. He has been in the top 5 of his class and the youngest. I am planning a dr visit tomorrow to discuss these "twitches" for they have gotten worse.

My guess, as i have known children with similar symptoms-- also very bright and gifted-- is that it is Tourette's.