How to address tics at preschool

[sahm]

Okay, I'm fairly new to this (1 month) and I am still struggling with accepting son's tics and how to deal with them. He's been off gluten and dairy/casein and sugar cane in all forms for 9 days. While his behavior is much better than at its peak (the weekend we changed the diet), I am still seeing his blinking tic and also a NEW tic which is an upper body jerk.

 

I am confused about one thing (among others):

* He had a tic for about 2 weeks where he would lick his finger or hand a lot. I let it go on and tried to ignore it but I just couldn't after a while because it was so unsanitary (during playing at child care center at gym)! I gave him a replacement thing to do - touch his lip with one finger. And to my surprise that tic just faded away quickly. Occasionally I'll see him "sneak" a lick but that is very rare. I don't know if I did the wrong thing by intervening but I didn't want him to get sick.

Question: Since this worked -- would a replacement movement work for another tic?

 

The issue at preschool is that he started doing an upper body jerk, for lack of a better description, mainly during circle time. This is a waiting time (let the other kids do their thing) and I sense it is distracting. The teachers were telling him to stop and I was too (which stems from my instinct and confusion about me being able to "cure" him of the other licking tic). But he says he can't. I think it's hard to ignore in class for teachers and other kids but luckily it's preschool and there isn't taunting yet. I then decided to say it's "okay" to do it - he was having some apprehension about being told to stop - and told his teachers to ignore and give him positive attn. We will give it a week to test the effect but I noticed he's doing that at home now and more frequently. I just wish I could help him stop.

 

I haven't taken him to a neurologist yet bc I worry we'd get a dx with no treatment plan. Maybe I should though...

 

I supplement with fish oil, Kids Calm (mag), probiotic, multi, and the diet modifications mentioned above.

 

I know no one can solve this for me but any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm already anxious about starting K now...

[colleenrn]

Hi. I just wanted to make sure that you are aware of PANDAS and have ruled that out first. My children's first PANDAS episodes were tics.

Colleen

[sahm]

Hi Colleen,

 

I appreciate it! While I am aware of PANDAS, I really don't understand it. Do I need to get some kind of test regardless of whether I suspect a Strep infection/exposure? I think I have difficulty absorbing all that information and getting to the beginning of it.

[colleenrn]

It is an autoimmune disorder triggered by strep and it causes any or all of these symptoms:

tics, OCD, anxiety, behavioral problems, separation anxiety, night time difficulties, changes in urinary patterns, loss of math skills, poor handwriting, dialated pupils, anorexia,. I am sure I have left some out, but I would suggest going to the PANDAS section on this forum and reading some posts.

 

Has he been sick recently? You could begin by getting a throat culture. Never rely on a negative rapid strep test. If it is negative, make sure they follow up with a 72 hour throat culture.

Colleen

[Chemar]

hi

 

where I agree it is always wise to check for possible PANDAS, dont neglect to also check into other possible triggers for his tics

 

helping a child with tic substitution is fine, sahm, as long as there isnt stressful pressure put on the child to alter the tic, because sometimes they simply cannot.

 

the teachers definitely need to be educated on the involuntary nature of tics and that telling his to "stop" is like waving a red flag at a bull.........forcing someone with tics to suppress them can cause a tic explosion or result in more OCD, anxiety etc

 

are you keeping a journal to try to determine what his tic triggers are? You would be amazed at how some things that you may not even have suspected stand out as triggers when you start keeping a log

[susie]

Hi,

 

Were you already giving the fish oil when the tics started? When my daughter began having tics, I added several supplements based upon things that worked for many of the people on this forum. Our doctor (M.D. with a holistic approach) suggested that we try krill oil instead of the fish oil that my daughter had been on for at least 2 years prior to tics starting. He said sometimes it works better. Well, for my daughter it made things worse. After switching back to fish oil for a while, I then just stopped that as well. Her tics quickly got much, much better. I still see an occasional tic, but they were pretty constant for several months (one would stop, another would start). I'd say the tics are 90%-95% gone after stopping the fish oil- nobody ever notices the tics except me now, and probably only once or twice per day. So, in my daughters case I feel like the tics were mostly caused by the fish oil. Others here have said that fish oil makes tics worse for some. Just something to think about.

[Chemar]

we have a lot of posts here about many kids with TS being sensitive to fish oil (my son included) as the source of their omega 3

 

for them, flaxseed oil seems top be a better choice

[sahm]

Wow, thanks guys!

 

Yes, we had been doing the Nordic Naturals Jr. 3.6.9 for months before tics started. I could try stopping ... Susie, how many days were you of the fish oil before you saw improvement? I know we have been off for 4-5 days before while on vacation...

 

I just go Sheila Roger's book last night at the library and have been pouring over it. Lots of great information.

 

I would still like to rule out PANDAS, need to look into that.

 

I still in the back of my mind relate the 5yo vaccinations to the tic onset. He had 3 vax (MMR, DTap and Polio I think) and 5 days later tics developed. In which case, I wish there was a way to flush whatever it is OUT!

 

I'm trying to look for triggers but all I can come up with is: slight stress/excitement or concentration. Like when you are telling him something important he blinks more bc he is processing the info. Or when he is responding and trying to put his sentence together.

[Chemar]

yup, sadly it does seem that some of the vaccines can trigger tics. probably related to both the immune response as well as some of the adjuvants they put in them

 

Kim has a lot of info on the vaccine stuff. A recent study at Wake Forest Univ found measles from the vaccine strain in the guts of some kids who have autism and IBD!!!

 

and yup, stress, excitement and concentration do seem to be common tic triggers

 

just keep trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Glad you have Sheila's book as it is such a valuable reference to help you sort thru all this!

 

also do take a look at the article on tic triggers on the main page http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm