DD is on her third tic

[Guest Kathy]

I just found this board <sigh of relief> and am thrilled that I may be onto something. A litte history, DD just turned 4. She is in speech therapy once a week through EI with our school district and is doing wonderful in it. She was still talking in the third person, no give in take at all in conversations, couldn't tell me how pre-k was, etc. She is a little better in those areas. She has had 3 tics - an eye blinking phase, a quite elaborate lip licking thing for several months, and now verbal tics. She walks around constantly sqeeking and hardly lets up - at pre-k, home, wherever. She has been seen by a pediatric neurologist who has referred her to a pschiatrist for possible aspergers. That appt. isn't until next month. I feel at a loss on where she falls, some things I read about on autism or asperger's totally sound like her, but then not other things. Or does she have Tourette's or is this all a toddler behavior? Where is a good place to start? I feel so bad if she continues down this path - the thought of her getting teased just breaks my heart. Any insight would be wonderful. TIA!

 

Kathy

[Chemar]

Hello Kathy and welcome

You will find lots of great info and helpful, caring friends here

As you start out on the journey toward diagnosis and treatment, i would like to offer you a few words of advice based on four years into our journey....

 

DONT WORRY

It doesnt make anything better...doesnt solve anything.....doesnt do anything but make you feel horrible!

Instead, channel the worry bug into positive action.....research, learn, ask, share!

 

whatever the diagnosis turns out to be, the best thing you can do for your child and yourself is to accept it, and then find ways to make the best of it.

For some, this involves medications....but,for most of us here at Latitudes it rather involves a more natural approach, without the drastic effects and side effects that some meds have....like adding supplements that may be deficient to the diet, avoiding artificial junk and other foodstuffs or environmental factors that seem to make our children's conditions worse....we have also learned that possible yeast(candida) and other parasites should be eradicated, and that many of our children have to have elimination of toxic heavy metals like mercury, lead, and others from their systems.

There is an excellent article here on possible Tic Triggers which forms a good basis to work from....but remember, not all the same things have the same effect on different people.

http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm

 

 

You may also want to check out the autism/aspergers forum here if you havent yet.

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=7

 

as well as some of the very informative read only sections found under the archived guest forum section

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?act=idx

 

We hope you will stay in touch with us and let us know your progress.

We care

[Guest Guest_Heather]

Hi Kathy,

 

Glad to hear you are on top of things and are starting early with the knowledge about natural treatment beforre getting in too heavy with the medical drugs. As Chemar said you will find lots of support on here. I share your feelings in that the fear of my son being teased is what worries me the most in all of this. At home, his tics have become a non-issue by our family and he knows that and it is very comforting to him. We rarely even talk about it anymore other than when we have doctor's visits.

 

Hope you will find a good doctor to help you with the natural therapy. I have found through reading that there are various characteristics that appear with different syndromes in the spectrum and sometimes there are cross over behaviours that may exist in one child and not another. I don't think any of the symptoms are carved in stone for one particular syndrome over another (although there are many common characteristics for each) and the behaviours you are seeing are unique to your child. Whatever the symptoms, the natural or environmental or DAN doctors all seem to focus on the same protocol of treatment in diagnosing chemical imbalances and correcting with natural supplements. Good luck with this and keep us up to date.

 

Heather

[Gina]

Kathy,

 

Good Start! This is a great place to start getting info together. I know that this is not an easy time for you or you child. My son was diagnosed with Tourettes when he was 6 and in 1st grade. I too feared the teasing at school. I have to say I underestimated his classmates. With permission from his teacher I went in and spoke to the class and explained to them why he makes those faces/movements etc. They were very concerned and understanding and my son did not have to endure the innocent yet embarassing questions from his peers. He is in 3rd grade and has a great group of friends most of which were from 1st grade. They are all aware of his tourettes and have even helped explain it at times when someone has ask them why thier friend does those things. I truly believe that you need to be open and matter of fact about it for everyone involved.

 

What I found out was in the beginning while getting all my information together about how to treat my son, was that when you start to feel overwelmed, walk away and give yourself a day or two (maybe even a week) of no information what so ever. Than pick up where you left off when your ready again. It's an emotional rollercoaster and every now and than you have to get off the ride...

 

Best of luck to you

[Claire]

Kathy, Gina,

 

How did you find this board--through what search? Do you remember?

 

I found it last fall by typing neurofeedback and tics in Google. It was a relief to me also, but even since then the forum members keep posting more new information! I had no idea of this common pattern of underlying conditions that could be corrected. And the folks here really do care, which is much appreciated.

 

Claire

[Gina]

Claire,

 

I don't remember how I found this site because it was a complete accident. I was just trying to find all info on treating Tourettes.

 

Gina

[Guest Kathy]

Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to reply. What a great board! I found this site by doing a Google search typing "tics in 4 year old's". I can't wait for her April appt to see what she thinks. I look forward to learning more from this board!

[Heather]

Kathy,

 

Yes, you will find this board a great place to share information!!!

 

I just want to say a word of warning for your appt. next month not to be too optimistic about your psychiatrist (sp??) supporting the natural supplements as a method of treatment. In October, I too was referred to a psychiatrist by the pediatrician for my son's tics. In Canada we have long waits for specialists so his appt. with the psych. wasn't until Jan. 13th. By the time we visited her I was well on my way onto the road of healing with the natural supplements.

 

Anyway, when I told her what I was doing, she proceeded to tell me that I was wasting my money and he was not healing but simply experiencing a waning of the tics. I then told her how much I had been reading about vitamin/mineral deficiencies and disease and she proceeded to tell me how she was sure there was nothing to that since she raised her son on hot dogs and he was now doing well in university. I wanted to smack her, however I kept my cool and just left. Her son apparently didn't have the genetic makeup (that our children do) to predispose him to the tics as a result of vitamin deficiencies

 

I don't mean to knock all psych.'s since I know some are very supportive of the natural treatment and I truly hope you have found one that is but just be prepared in case you don't have a positive experience.

 

Heather

[Heather]

There are many DAN doctors and naturopaths across the country who will support the treatements that you will read about on here who are having much success. If you decide to go that route and you need help finding one, there are people on here who can help you.

 

BTW, my son is pretty much tic free over the last couple of days again once we got back on track with the diet after our bout with the triggering foods last weekend.

 

Heather

[Guest Jean]

Kathy,

 

I would like to share with you my experience as well. I so much agree with Heather. I also had experience with my son's Ped. After I read many discussions on this board, I mentioned heavy metal analysis, and other tests to the doctor. He simply denied ordering these tests because he doesn't believe there is any relationship in between. He also said that he's not aware of any lab doing the heavy metal hair analysis. I've seen many mainstream doctors don't agree with the natural supplements as the treatment. However, when I visited our naturopath (found from the DAN list) the first time, she ordered the heavy metal hair analysis and stool test (I didn't even mention these terms). Good luck on your visiting.

 

Heather,

 

Very glad to hear your son pretty much tic free! I'm still waiting for the test results (thought they would come out this week). I guess that I have to be patient.

[Claire]

I don't think I would be exaggerating to say that the odds of a 'random' psychiatrist understanding the diagnostic protocols and treatment using supplements that the DANS doctors, naturopaths, and Environmental Medicine doctors use is very low.

 

On the other hand, my son's DAN doctor happens to be a psychiatrist.

 

My point is, that severe tics affect such a small portion of the population and the knowledge base on them is thus extremely limited. I must echo what others have said. This is a new area, and various specialists have their own approaches. On average, this diagnostic non-pharmaceutical approach is limited to those who have studied it in depth.

 

DAN doctors

www.autism.com/ari. Click on DAN on the left, then finding doctors.

 

It lists the doctors specialty, so if finding a psychiatrist is important to you and you live in a populated area with lots of doctors, you may be able to find on. Don't be confused off by the term autism. They really cover a span of neurological issues.

 

www.aaem.com is on another list--EM doctors.

 

I thought someone posted a list of naturopaths, plus I believe that at least one of the above links contain Naturopaths.

 

And those who know me on the board, know that I wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't suggest trying no TV (or computer if she does that too) for a week, and see what improvement you see. At age 4, I can't imagine trauma for the unplugged TV 'not working' for a few days. This was night and day for my son when he was 8, and I know a 3 year old who gets tics from TV/computer CRT screens also.

 

Finally, my last words: you have plenty of time for diagnostics before trying drugs (should you ever feel compelled to do so). Teasing starts much later--closer to middle school. My son was 8 when they first started and it took a couple of months to stop them cold (via no computer). No one said a word to him; he was at 2 new schools during that time period and made a ton of new friends.

 

In my mind, 'medicine' tries to stop the symptoms, it doesn't address the health issues and triggers.

 

Good luck.

 

Claire

[Guest Jeff]

Hi Kathy, Glad you found this board - it could make a HUGE difference in your and your daughter's lives! It's good that you've started early to look for alternatives to the meds. Many people are very successfully controlling - nearly eliminating - the tics with natural methods.

What has worked for me and my two daughters has been eliminating artificial colors, flavors, and certain preservatives (BHT, BHA, and TBHQ) from our diet. We have been following the Feingold Program (feingold.org) for nearly five years now, and ever since we did, the tics are a non-issue. We saw dramatic results within 2-3 weeks of starting on the program.

Best of luck, and pat yourself on the back for starting early and finding this board!!

Jeff