Hi there .

This post is also a reply i sent  to another group member

My 5 year son developed tics that involve the shoulder and neck. This was so intense that i was so worried.It happened three months ago.He then developed blinking of the eyes soon after the shoulder and the neck slowed down.Shortly after that he would walk a short distance and then stop and turn around . I knew about tourettes as i previously case managed a boy with tourettes in my first year of psych nursing. I took to a lot of reading research articles in an attempt to find an answer. I noticed that this condition was neither psychiatric or neurological. The treatment was not black and white.

I can say that three months down the line , my son's tics have significantly reduced by 95%.

This is what we did:
1. identified most anxiety provoking situations for him. 
2.identified triggers
3.Assessed the school learning environment . Noted that he had been paired witha troubled child. this was changed.
4.Spoke to the head teacher and class teacher
5.Dedicated 90% of my free time to support him
6.I removed electronic gadgets e.g ipads and tablets for games 
7. Played with him a lot of practical physical games , e.g soccer and basketball
8. I read about habit reversal therapy and used some of the techniques e.g when he felt like twitching the neck I taught him to think of swallowing.. it worked for him. Might not work for everyone.
9. An article from American journal of psychiatry indicated that lower iron levels may contribute to hypoplasia of the caudate and putamen, increasing vulnerability to developing tics or having more severe tics. Lower iron levels may contribute to smaller cortical volumes and consequently to reduced inhibitory control of tics.
10. We got him to have a blood test.It was a difficult task with a 5year old. The blood results showed that the iron levels were low. We were advised to give him iron an suppliment.
11. With more support , his symptoms quickly disappeared
12.Sleep was one big thing.My son used to wake up time and again asking for milk at night time. We ensured that he does not drink any milk at night time. We gave him his evening meal early around 4pm and gave him another feed later in the evening, say 7pm or 8pm. He improved his sleep significantly
He also sleep after pres-school for an hour or two and eats well with a bit more encouragement

I notice that he sometimes touches his heard a few times, when under pressure. Once he gains confidence he is ok.

Tablets and ipads are now used in moderation. 

I hope it helps