Is this really at tic? How many tics does a person usually have?

[Pippin]

My son has one tic - a chronic complex tic. As I read the forum, it appears that most have mulitple tics. Is it common to have just one tic? Also, my son's tic is waiving his hand in front of his face usually while he's looking at a light - either flourescent or natural. The movement appears deliberate as opposed to involuntary. He did go to a neurologist and it was determined it was a tic. Something just doesn't seem right. Any thoughts or ideas to explore? Thank you.

[guy123]

My son has one tic - a chronic complex tic. As I read the forum, it appears that most have mulitple tics. Is it common to have just one tic? Also, my son's tic is waiving his hand in front of his face usually while he's looking at a light - either flourescent or natural. The movement appears deliberate as opposed to involuntary. He did go to a neurologist and it was determined it was a tic. Something just doesn't seem right. Any thoughts or ideas to explore? Thank you.

 

I don't mean this to sound stupid, but are you sure he's not just doing it because it looks cool? Different lights operate at different frequencies and can cause different effects if you wave your hand in front of them. Try it in front of an old CRT computer monitor; it has a strobe light-like effect. LCD monitors don't. It's a similar effect to staring at a ceiling fan (on a low speed) and blinking really fast; it has a strobe light effect.

 

It could be a tic, but it could also just be that he's discovered a property of different frequencies of light emission and he's messing around with them.

 

Of course, natural light wouldn't have this effect, so it could be a tic since you said he does it for natural light, too. And the fact that the neurologist diagnosed it as a tic means it probably is.

 

How often does he do it? Every time he encounters a new light source? Only when he's board? How old is he?

[Pippin]

My son has one tic - a chronic complex tic. As I read the forum, it appears that most have mulitple tics. Is it common to have just one tic? Also, my son's tic is waiving his hand in front of his face usually while he's looking at a light - either flourescent or natural. The movement appears deliberate as opposed to involuntary. He did go to a neurologist and it was determined it was a tic. Something just doesn't seem right. Any thoughts or ideas to explore? Thank you.

 

I don't mean this to sound stupid, but are you sure he's not just doing it because it looks cool? Different lights operate at different frequencies and can cause different effects if you wave your hand in front of them. Try it in front of an old CRT computer monitor; it has a strobe light-like effect. LCD monitors don't. It's a similar effect to staring at a ceiling fan (on a low speed) and blinking really fast; it has a strobe light effect.

 

It could be a tic, but it could also just be that he's discovered a property of different frequencies of light emission and he's messing around with them.

 

Of course, natural light wouldn't have this effect, so it could be a tic since you said he does it for natural light, too. And the fact that the neurologist diagnosed it as a tic means it probably is.

 

How often does he do it? Every time he encounters a new light source? Only when he's board? How old is he?

 

He just turned nine and has been doing this for 2.5 years. It started while at the pool and bright sunlight has the greatest affect. He tics a lot, everyday. At times it seems uncontrollable and is exacerbated by stress and excitement. However, there are many times he seems to get some other sort of need met by doing it. I say this because it's slower - the head goes back - than you know the hand will wave. When it's slower and seemingly more deliberate, he waves his hand longer. When it seems uncontrollable, the movement is quicker and shorter. Does that make sense? As I don't have any tics and actually, have never talked to anyone else that has (which you may find odd) I don't know how it feels and since he's young, it's hard to discuss. I keep going back to stress. Could it be some sort of stress relief?? I was just got a bottle of Melissa Supreme by Gaia's Children. It's supposed to help with stress and also has scullcap in it. I'm very, very new to all of this - especially the herbal remedies - and I don't feel like I know what I'm doing other than to keep trying different things. I would like a professional I could go to. My son doesn't fit "neatly" into any categories and I the professionals I've spoken with don't seem to know what to do. I will not give him medication. Any suggestions would be helpful.

[guy123]

To answer your questions from the subject line, it sounds like it's probably a tic, then.

 

People can have from one to many tics. Sometimes they change over time, sometimes they don't. Sometimes (usually) if it's a childhood tic they will "outgrow" it and it will go away as their brain develops. Adult-onset tics usually do not go away, from what I hear.

[CSP]

Pippin,

 

When my son started ticcing, also after the pool. It was an eye rolling, that I would say lasted 2 years. But he would get some kind of urge to look at the sun while playing baseball. Never anyother time tho. Then when he was 11 or so he started with a kissing noise tic. Not very often, we mostly heard it when we were taking a road trip. Could have been the excitment.

 

I wish I had kept a log or something, but I did not know about tics then. I don't know if others see that their child starts out with one kind of tic and then over a period of years it becomes a lot of different tics. As soon as my son had the 2 shots he just exploded into all kinds of tics that really scared me. I wonder what his tics would be like if he never had those shots. Maybe others can share how their child's tics started and progressed.

 

CP