Tics & Video Games

[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

[kim]

Beverly,

 

 

 

When we see something that we are convinced had an adverse effect on one of our kids, maybe we need to tell someone, and not just a Dr. that dismisses you as a knit wit. I think we should email, phone or write the manufactures and encourage other parents to do the same. If tics are becoming so common that as many as 1 in 100 may experience them, maybe an additional warning would be added, if enough of us spoke up.

 

My son had one of his worst tic attacks ever, playing pac man. HE wouldn't even touch the game again, he was that aware of what it did to him. It sent me to a closed door room to have the neurologist paged (crying.) It takes a lot for me to panic and cry on the phone with a Dr. It was his birthday, and I guess there was some emotion involved too.

 

As far as fixing, just read read read, and plan your defense, if the tics don't pass with no video games. Thanks for posting, and let us know how he's doing!

 

Kim

[Spring]

The photosensitivity may be caused by heavy metals (Mercury in particular). That's what happened to my son. You may want to look into the heavy metals test information posted here.

 

Spring

[mmazz]

Hi Beverly:

 

Welcome to the forum. Looking back I too had seen the video triggers in my son. Of course it was winter and the x-box was the poison. It was an outward sign of crying while playing because he was unable to achieve the task. It was not the tics but the intense mood swings that preceeded the tics just a few weeks/months of the onset. But do not blame yourself. These vidoe games are everywhere and he would have come upon them somewhere else. A year plus has proved to be beneficial here with of course the usual set backs.

Listen to the great information here about nutrition and diet and give yourself a chance to breath. He wll come through just fine. Take care of yourself and breath. Know that you are a great mother who will be able to help her child overcome these hurdles in life.

 

God Bless and be well;

 

Marie

[Claire]

Beverly,

 

Is he still playing the game? If you have read my threads on this discussion (and it sounds like you have), my son's tics were 100% correlated to his video/computer game (and later CRT TV activity). They got worse and worse until I stopped it completely, then they went away COMPLETELY.

 

Their brains are still developing, if he is reacting poorly, I hope you can stop.

 

THis is probably the ONE time that I think a white lie is okay to avoid world war III in the home (as others here have done), and to have it conveniently 'break' and not be able to fix it for whatever reason. You may not agree, I can respect that.

 

Spring is right...metals such as mercury can cause the photosensitivity. Other things can too...read on this site how to build up his immune system.

 

However, I don't think video games are necessary for happy children. If it truly triggers tics, and I know it can for some, then I believe that his life is better with more time on other (less addictive) things.

 

I know some think it is the stress (and for some it maybe)...for my son it was the photosensitivity to the flicker and rapid action. No other stress EVER triggered tics, before, during or after.

 

I got my son Harry Potter book tapes to keep him occupied, along with construction toys like Knex.

 

But that is just the start, as he gets older, computer and computer games are harder to keep away. I believe that the earlier you start healing whatever is causing the photosensivity, the better the chance of full recovery. My son has been tic-free for 2.5 years now, and he plays video game again...just on an LCD screen.

 

If you can't get away from it entirely, get a small LCD screen, turn down the brightness, keep a well-lit room and get him games like rollercoaster tycoon and the Sims, that don't have the rapid action/flicker.

 

Good luck.

 

Claire

[Beverly Snow]

Beverly,

 

Is he still playing the game? If you have read my threads on this discussion (and it sounds like you have), my son's tics were 100% correlated to his video/computer game (and later CRT TV activity). They got worse and worse until I stopped it completely, then they went away COMPLETELY.

 

Their brains are still developing, if he is reacting poorly, I hope you can stop.

 

THis is probably the ONE time that I think a white lie is okay to avoid world war III in the home (as others here have done), and to have it conveniently 'break' and not be able to fix it for whatever reason. You may not agree, I can respect that.

 

Spring is right...metals such as mercury can cause the photosensitivity. Other things can too...read on this site how to build up his immune system.

 

However, I don't think video games are necessary for happy children. If it truly triggers tics, and I know it can for some, then I believe that his life is better with more time on other (less addictive) things.

 

I know some think it is the stress (and for some it maybe)...for my son it was the photosensitivity to the flicker and rapid action. No other stress EVER triggered tics, before, during or after.

 

I got my son Harry Potter book tapes to keep him occupied, along with construction toys like Knex.

 

But that is just the start, as he gets older, computer and computer games are harder to keep away. I believe that the earlier you start healing whatever is causing the photosensivity, the better the chance of full recovery. My son has been tic-free for 2.5 years now, and he plays video game again...just on an LCD screen.

 

If you can't get away from it entirely, get a small LCD screen, turn down the brightness, keep a well-lit room and get him games like rollercoaster tycoon and the Sims, that don't have the rapid action/flicker.

 

Good luck.

 

Claire

 

 

 

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

[Chemar]

Hi Beverly

 

yes, too much sugar and articial colouring can sure be tic triggers!

 

It is my inderstanding that LCD screens dont have the same kind of flashing and image/light transmission that CRT screens do and so tend not to trigger things in photosensitive people like happens with the CRTs

[Claire]

Ditto what Chemar said! Your conclusion about Easter sounds correct to me.

 

Re the LCD screen, they don't flicker. The smaller the screen the better...15" is great, and remember about the well-lit room. What folks here (including me) did was to test it out a little at a time, to see what their child could tolerate.

 

My 2 cents: We know that with ASD (autism spectrum disorders), the earlier the treatment, the more chance of cure. Tics aren't accepted as an ASD, however, our DAN doctor still thinks that the earlier you treat them the more the chance of healing. We 'wasted' 2 years of no screens, with no tics, but no improvement in his photosensitivity before I found a DAN doctor to help us (notice I say help, because I still had to do research on my own). Within 6-9 months there was great improvement in his sensitivity. Others here have found the same thing.

 

So...while eliminating triggers, whether it is screens or sugar or whatever, is good, testing and treating things like metals and/or yeast etc etc (lots of discussion on everything on this board), is the key to maximizing his health so he isn't so sensitive. Believe me, in middle school it is harder to control--in fact it can be virtually infeasible without alienating your child and creating other problems, so you want to do this now. I really recommend the testing discussed here, and I believe in Sheila's book. Too much to discuss in a post, so you can view various threads on it. Pyroluria, Mercury, and Vitamin B2 deficiencies are some examples. I believe that yeast is also, but no direct evidence there. The other evidence points to photo or light sensitivity, not necessarily tics.

 

Claire

 

ps When my own son would get occasional tics over those 1st 2 years with no screens, I would always find out that he was exposed somewhere...either at school or at a friends.