what constitues a 'tic'?

[smartyjones]

i am trying to understand the definition of a tic. i had believed my son did not have any tics with his two pandas episodes. during one, i saw eye blinking one time for about 5 seconds. this was all he did close to a general layperson defintion of a tic. one of his obnoxious behaviors was kicking the back of my seat in the car. i've read kicking can be a tic.

as i've learned more about tics, i realize he did for a short time, do a finger thing that he touched each finger to his thumb repeatedly. in the past two weeks, he has been occasionally flicking his finger - first finger flick against his thumb - sometimes to the air, sometimes to an object, sometimes to his face.

 

 

i read in kurlan's handbook of tourettes syndrome and related tic and behavioral disorders -

a complex motor tic is an abrupt, distinct, coordinated pattern of sequential movements. it may appear purposeful, as if performing a volutary motor act but it serves no purpose, save the relief of an unpleasant sensation.

 

it lists - touching nose, touching other people, smelling objects, spitting, neck-cracking, rubbing, jumping. one of his strangest behaviors was touching strangers.

 

how do you discern what is a tic versus what may be strange but normal 5 year-old behavior? and then what is obnoxious pandas behavior versus tic pandas behavior? or does it matter to differenciate? do we need to get into if this is just a motor action versus a compulsion related to obsessive thoughts? can i rest on the criteria that this is something i notice but it doesn't impact or alter functioning?

 

thanks!

[faith]

smartyjones,

I can tell you all you want to know about tics, unfortunately. The ones you describe are very minor. the eye blinking is usually (but not always one of the first ones, mostly for younger ones). if you only saw it once for five seconds, its not a tic. a tic is repetitive, doesn't have to be all day every second, but I think when someone does something repetitively, its obvious. the reason they do it is because of a physical sensation, kind of like a nervewracking feeling, and that movement relieves the feeling for a very short time, sometimes only a couple of seconds, then the feeling is there again, so they do it again, and so on and so on. Subtle ones can be finger/hand clenching, wrinkling the nose, raising eyebrows,

 

Did you mean your son was touching other people at one time? what kind of touching? like had to specifically touch the person, or just being touchy feely and too much in their space? if he was just always touching people as in being too close, that could be a spacial or social issue.

 

If you have to wonder if its a tic, then I'd say its not. I wouldn't worry about that until you have to.

 

compulsions are not tics, they are something that the person is compelled to do because of a thought in their head (mostly an irrational one). they obssess over something, and so they have a compulsion to do it (hence "obssessive-compulsive" behavior or disorder) or else they are bothered or fearful. for instance, my son erases his letters alot, because in his mind, it's not perfect (whatever the reason, ... its too big, its crrooked, whatever), so if he does not fix it, it "bothers" him. last year he had a bout of it where he said "something in his head was telling hm to do it"......

 

Believe me, you would notice tics and ocd, and if you don't then its not interfering with anything and is not an issue. you could certainly keep on the lookout, but don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out. its not fun.

 

Faith

[ajcire]

When my ds was doing the eye blinking it was so constant that I was able to bring him in to the dr. and he could see exactly what I was talking about. It wasn't all the time at first but at 2 1/2 it was so bad that I called the dr. and told him I needed him to see my son right then. He of course said, oh... I see it but it's a common childhood tic... grrr.. he said sometimes a tic is just a tic... There was no doubt when looking at him that he had an eye tic.

 

At 4 my ds started clearing his throat so much I brought him to the dr. to rule out that he had a backdrip or sore throat. I knew it was not that but I figured I better check. Once again, the dr. said it was a common childhood tic. He is 7 and he is doing it again, a month after having strep. He doesn't do it at school.. at least his teacher said she isn't noticing it.. she said she paid attention and noticed he cleared his throat a couple times but nothing that made her think anything of it. At home it's so constant that to someone else in the room it can make them crazy. If you draw his attention to it, he can sorta stop.. but he goes right back to it.

 

 

 

Ok, now re-reading Faiths post I don't know if the throat clearing is more of a compulsion or a tic. I don't know.. he says he doesn't know why he does it, just that he has to. The eye blinking.. he had no idea he was doing it when he was doing it and could not control it at all.

[faith]

erica,

the throat clearing is considered a tic. even if he doesn't know why he does it but says "he has to", he has to because the sensation is there for him and he has to do it in an attempt to get rid of that sensation. that's how they perceive it, that they will clear the feeling, but its a vicious circle. if he doesn't do it in school alot, its probably because he is conciously aware of it and tries to not let it go too much. my son can do this too, but eventually he has to let it out sometime (his vocal). when you are in private in a safe place, it is much easier to let it fly, and I think the more you do it, the more you want to do it or feel you have to do it.

 

I know exactly what these feelings are because aside from my son, I have some minor tics myself, mostly head tightening and tapping things, but no one would notice these things (except my husband and son) because I don't do them in front of anyone. I can hold it back, they are minor, but if I'm alone, if I start doing one, then I'll do it more, like in a little flurry and then stop.

 

a compulsion is more when someone does something out of an irrational thought or fear, like washing hands because of fear of germs, or having to close all the closet doors and check them because something bad will happen if they don't. those are extreme, but you get the picture.

 

Faith

[ajcire]

Faith, thanks for that explanation.. that makes sense!

 

 

erica,

the throat clearing is considered a tic. even if he doesn't know why he does it but says "he has to", he has to because the sensation is there for him and he has to do it in an attempt to get rid of that sensation. that's how they perceive it, that they will clear the feeling, but its a vicious circle. if he doesn't do it in school alot, its probably because he is conciously aware of it and tries to not let it go too much. my son can do this too, but eventually he has to let it out sometime (his vocal). when you are in private in a safe place, it is much easier to let it fly, and I think the more you do it, the more you want to do it or feel you have to do it.

 

I know exactly what these feelings are because aside from my son, I have some minor tics myself, mostly head tightening and tapping things, but no one would notice these things (except my husband and son) because I don't do them in front of anyone. I can hold it back, they are minor, but if I'm alone, if I start doing one, then I'll do it more, like in a little flurry and then stop.

 

a compulsion is more when someone does something out of an irrational thought or fear, like washing hands because of fear of germs, or having to close all the closet doors and check them because something bad will happen if they don't. those are extreme, but you get the picture.

 

Faith