Beverly Snow

Thank you all for your responses. It is such a relief to have this forum for ideas and discussion, it has definitly helped lower my anxiety over this issue. We have had no screens for a month now and I do see a lot of improvement. However, on Easter it was pretty bad for the day. Having read all the previous entries I believe the sugar and color dyes in the candy are partly responsible. Do the LCD screen TV's not act as a trigger in most cases, or is it just a reduced tic reponse? Beverly Snow

My son just turned seven and he really REALLY wanted the Nintendo Game Cube. Well, I went and did it... his friends had it, so I went ahead and got it for him. One week later he began haveing intense eye blinking. I thought it was eye strain, so no TV or video games or any screens for a week. His tics have gotten worse, now his chest mucles are ticcing and his sholder rolls and his mouth twitches to one side and we still have the eye blinking. I feel like I let a monster into my house, it is slowly tearing my darling boy to pieces and I am helpless to stop it. This is so painful. From reading other entries I have discerned that my son may be photosensitive and the flickering screen brought on this "transient tic" or "Tourette Syndrome". That this is a "Trigger" for him and he may have been predisposed to these conditions due to heredity. Yet, I will continue to blame Nintendo. Had I not brought that game cube into my home I am conviced that my son would be fine today. Perhaps he would have made it through these volunerable years and never met a "trigger" that would start these tics. The warning mentions seizures, but there is no mention of photosensitivity or tics or the fact that 5-8 year olds may be volunerable to video games triggery transient tic disorder. Has anyone else seen a clear connection to the onset of tics when exposed to video games like "Pikmen" and "Mario Kart"? Any ideas on how I can help my child? Thanks, Beverly Snow