I am not so sure I am of any help as my daughter is only 10. I did recently ask the specialist that question and she told me that its nothing she can honestly say would stick around or go away.. its one of those wait and see as they get older.. but she did say it tends to get worse around the age of 16.. I will look in to it more.. maybe I can come up with a better answer for you.

Hi I am 19 and my tics just started getting better since I have gottin out of high school and alot of the stress is gone! It feels really good to like my body can take a rest. My tics at some point where pretty bad and could somtiimes not even write. But now I soemtimes have my moments bad its alot better! I just hope its keeps like this! I have ts since I was 4so its about time:)

thanks for your replys guys. At what age did you get out of high school. My son has been out for well over a year now and works 15hrs a week at a pet resort. He couldn't cope any longer in school so I homeschooled him in his last year. His tics haven't improved being out of school though. If anything he has gotten worse. He is now 17 and recently his vocal tics are louder than ever. He refuses to take medication because of side effects. I can't see anything different in his life that would make his tics increase except its summer here in Australia and the heat makes everything worse. Glad to hear you are improving sportychic

I got out of hs about a year ago. Boys playes a big role in it also beacuse i got so nervous around them.....but many people are diff so its hard to tell I read storys of ts complety dissapering.

I have a question for the young people that read this site. My 14 yr old grandson does not want to talk about his TS with anyone and does not want to talk to anyone who has it, wont watch anything on tv about TS . What is the reason for this? Does he just figure if he ignores it , it will just go away or what?

My 17 year old son is exactly the same. He doesn't want to talk about ts, read about it, watch it on tv etc. If I try to talk to him about his constant tics and maybe trying some medication he gets very angry. He says that it's depressing enough to have it without being reminded of it all the time, so yes he is the same as your grandson. I think some denial might be involved also My son tells me that talking about tics can make the urge come up more and then he will tic more. He doesn't seem to care either how loud and distressing it is for the rest of the family to listen to his loud vocal tics either.

in my opinion you ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO IMPROVE
it doesnt go down to age- like oh no hes 17 now so thats the age cut off point and hes goign to be like this forever.
he could still improve tomorrow
so please dont give up hope its the only thing youve got at the moment and keep workign on improving the symptonms and doing what you can forhim and him for himself- eat healthy, early nights, keep stress at bay- enjoy hobbies etc- it does pay dividends in my book, and just because he is still like it and is getting older doesnt mean to say an improvement is never ont he cards.
age is immeterial

Hi I am 19 and my tics just started getting better since I have gottin out of high school and alot of the stress is gone! It feels really good to like my body can take a rest. My tics at some point where pretty bad and could somtiimes not even write. But now I soemtimes have my moments bad its alot better! I just hope its keeps like this! I have ts since I was 4so its about time:)

what does that tell you?
exaclty reiterates what isaid- this young lady felt a reduction in symptoms during certain life changes- nothing to do with age.
dont give up hope- never do that!

kgor... thanks for the reply. My grandson also says talking about the tics makes him do them more . At times I will say , gee have you noticed your tics are not bad today and he will say thanks grandma and he will be ticing alot for like 15 mins till he forgets I said it. It does bother him when he makes noise to annoy others. I can totally ignor them as far as he is concerned but his father and step mom cant. He will avoid eating at the table with them or going out to eat because his dad will constantly remind him to stop, which makes it worse.
His adhd is so bad right now , having a awful time in school . I hired a school friend yesterday to tutor him in math. This kid managed to teach him more algabra in the 4 hours that they worked then the teacher has all yr. I can hardly get 15 mins of homework time out of him but this friend was great with him. I was thrilled, hopefully he can bring the math grade up from a F and failing.
Have a great day

I have a medication question. I have anothe grandson that has adhd and can not function without Aderall. He went from failing in school to A, B honor roll with his meds. Has anyone ever tried Aderall for their child with TS for the ADHD? The dr told me once it would probably make the tics worse then no medication at all. Just wondered if anyone has any experience with it.
thanks

Tyler started clonidine about 8wks ago and it has helped with his tics... He had taken Focalin for a 1 month trial about 2 yrs ago and it didn't do anything at the small dose he was taking. Now that his tics are less we need to focus on the ADD/slow cognitive tempo aspect of his person. Maybe Adderal will help... I'll ask the neurologist when we see him Wed the 10th.

hi there i have a son jay who has just turned 10. He has had motor tics only since probably the age of 5, they have increased as he got older around 7 and a half was very bad, since then it's hard to fully say as he has taken respirdal which has really helped. It does have side effects - the most common being weight gain but this has not been a problem for Jay. It can make him a bit tired sometimes and when he is on a high dose occasionally his speech is just a little less clear. We see a fantasic doctor in London who runs the tourettes clinic at St ormonds Streeet hospital (the biggest childrens hospital in the uk).
Our doctor very much thinks things will improve with time with the age 8-12 being the worst time. I try to remain hopeful, my husband also had tics as a child and outgrew them from around 11 onwards. We haven't had any vocal tics as of yet and Jay has no other conditions.
I hope you are coping ok I really know how hard it is, it's so up and down isn't it? If I could know the outcome would be positive I'd relax about it more.
All I can say is I know people have very different ideas about medication but for us it has reduced the problem alot.

Wishing you well

jane

Hello, I just joined this support group. I see that you also have been dealing with a lot of tics. My son also is homeschooled because of his Tourettes. He has some really loud vocal tics to.
I have also read about the tics getting better as they get older past puberty is what I have read. I sure hope so. It is so hard to watch your bright child go through this crazy disorder.
I am constantly searching to try and find a link to find a cure by haps, I have come across a Dentist who I emailed who has a patent on a mouth device that he shows a video where he has had success with fitting people with this mouth device and it shows that they have become tic free. I have never seen such a thing until recently when I came across it looking for cures. This dentist actually really has a patent on this device. I looked it up. I am going to inquire more on it, but right now we don't have health insurance and I am sure that the new appliance isn't covered yet under any medical insurance.
I am also looking into the fact that my son has sinus issues and they seem to bring out this one sucking in air tic. I am researching and so far these are things I am going to look into. I would like to speak to you also and trade what we know and have experienced. I wish I knew people in my area who had children with Tourettes.

Welcome, we are all just looking for answers and suppose. Gee a mouth piece just sounds too easy but let us know what you learn about it.
My grandson has had ts since age 7 and struggles with school and life in general. He is now 14 and showing no signs of slowing down. He even went to a teacher today and told her how bad his tics seem to be right now and she said she noticed too.
We live in florida, where are you from?
Nice to have you................
marylou

Hello, my tics started around 7 years old. Around 25 years old they almost completley disapeared. I never took any medication. They came back slowly (some old tics some new ones). Now I'm 44, I consider mine fairly mild now and I can completely control it in public.

As far as young people and teens not wanted to discuss TS - I really get that. It makes the tics worse. I have always been able to hold mine in so nobody even knew I had it, that way I never had to discuss it. It took me until I was 42 to be able to talk about it.

17 is young, it might take a few more years to improve, everyone is so different.