Increased Tics During Reading

[sylt]

Hello,

I am new so first let me give some background. My seven year old granddaughter who I am raising has exhibited both motor and vocal tics since she was around three and a half. They were very mild for the most part and didn't become more intense until this past spring. This was not surprising since she has been diagnosed with severe pollen, dust and mold allergies and has been receiving neutralization therapy for the past three years. The allergy treatment has helped, but early spring is still a nightmare for her. The most difficult time for her when her tics are waxing is when she is reading. She is an active reader and is even well above grade level in her reading abilities. Sometimes her tics become so bad while she is reading that it is hard for her to continue. Once she is finished reading, her tics will return to their pre reading intensity. Obviously I am concerned that this will begin to affect her school work, as well as her love of reading. I have not yet scheduled an eye exam and she does not appear to struggle with vision problems. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so I would appreciate any guidance you could provide me. Thank you

 

[Chemar]

Hi and welcome

I would suggest an eye exam asap to ensure all is well with her vision. When my son's TS was not yet dx, one of the first issues he had was eye tics and we were shocked to discover that he did in fact need corrective lenses, even though we, and his pediatrician and school, thought his vision was ok. There may be some eye strain that is contributing to the increase in tics during reading

[Chemar]

Just wanted to also mention Helen Irlen and a lot of good info related to her work on vision.

A search on this forum brings up some, and there is a lot more on the main Latitudes/ACN website

http://latitudes.org/?s=Irlen

[sylt]

Thanks chemar for your response. You have provided so much helpful support on this forum. I have scheduled an eye exam for my granddaughter and had previously looked into the Irlen method. I will pursue both areas and see where it leads. It is so frustrating to have reading be a tic trigger, especially since she enjoys reading so much.