My son
Ok, so my 2nd child, now age 6, has always been a bit intense since the day he was born. (Actually, he was quite active during pregnancy as well). And that's just what we figured, he was just an intense child. It was an absolute tragedy if his tower of blocks fell, or he would fly into a rage if his baby brother was the cause of the fallen blocks. If he tower didn't fall, it was the greatest thing ever, to be enthusiatsically celebrated with cheering and dancing. And it was like this (and still is) for every single event in his life. Anger and frustration seem to dominate his emotions most of the time, peppered with extreme silliness, which he thinks is just absolutely hilarious.
Now, I don't remember when the hard eye blinking started since I didn't really think much of it. I just figured it was a habit. I'm thinking about a year and a half ago. He's been chewing his shirt for about a year, and that really bothered me, not only because he was ruining his clothes, but because I didn't want him to be the "weird" one at school. I know that sounds horrible, but I was an outcast in school and it was awful for me. He repetitively cleared his throat for a while, which I noticed, but again just figured it was a habit.
The thing that got my attention was when he started repetitively shrugging his shoulders right before he turned 6. I asked him if he was doing it on purpose and he said yes. I asked him to stop, but he didn't so I tried to bribe him with a candy bar. It didn't work. He just kept on shrugging. This caused me to worry, but my friends and family assured me he was fine.
I am a naturally curious person that thirsts for knowlege of stuff I don't understand. So I Googled it. And WebMD'ed it. Then I googled it some more. I researched obsessively. Tourette's kept coming up and the shoulder shrug wasn't the only symptom he was exhibiting. I started to think maybe there was more to the blinking, chewing and throat clearing. Then the shoulder shrug went away.
Then in August he started snapping his jaw and rolling his eyes. Not like a sarcastic roll, but way back in his head. He was twitching again and once again became concerned. And once again I started researching. The comon theme of Tourette's kept popping up everywhere I looked on the internet.
Once I became convinced it was Tourette's Syndrome, I Researched until I could find no more information on it. Meanwhile, he started first grade. He spends most of the time in the principal's office. He rolls around on the floor, babbles and shouts, throws things, hits and spits. He wont stay in his seat and runs around all over the place. He hops around on the bus so much that they are threatening to kick him off. They hold him in the office until it is ready to leave before they let him on. He has been acting the same way at home. He will not sit still. Even if he is engrossed in a favorite cartoon, he is hopping around or jogging in place the whole time. The only time he sits relatively still is if he's drawing a picture. Even then he fidgets the whole time. And that is when he tics the most. His Tics now include hard blinking, eye rolling, fist clentching, head nodding, jaw snapping, grimacing, and echolalia.
We are in the evaluation process right now. The school thinks he has Apergers, but I resaerched it and he doesn't fit the profile. He doesn't have any obsessions and he is very capable of looking you in the eye while conversating. They are thinking that because he doesn't get along with anyone and he smart to the point of being "gifted". I am 100% conviced of the Tourette's, about 90% sure of the ADHA, and I'm starting to consider that ODD could possibly be a real disorder.
Vocally I don't know what is Tic and what is not. He is very obstinant. He is very rude. He says inapropriate things pretty much non-stop. He calls people names like poopie head says things like "I poop in your butt" just out of the blue, for no reason. He thinks it's hialrious. He licks people, smells everything, blows raspberries in peoples faces. When I ask him why he does or says some of these things, his excuses are either, because he can, because he wants to, or he just straight denies he even did it. Today he told me he Tics because it helps him think.
So I'm having a hard time with trying to figure out what is strictly behavioral and what is disorder and when I should discipline vs when I should be patient and tolerant. I don't want to punish him for something he can't control, but at the same time I don't want to let him get away with stuff just because he has a disorder. And NOBODY I talk to understands any of it. And they're not interested. So in essance, I litterally have NO support network.
So anyway, that's where we are now.
Now, I don't remember when the hard eye blinking started since I didn't really think much of it. I just figured it was a habit. I'm thinking about a year and a half ago. He's been chewing his shirt for about a year, and that really bothered me, not only because he was ruining his clothes, but because I didn't want him to be the "weird" one at school. I know that sounds horrible, but I was an outcast in school and it was awful for me. He repetitively cleared his throat for a while, which I noticed, but again just figured it was a habit.
The thing that got my attention was when he started repetitively shrugging his shoulders right before he turned 6. I asked him if he was doing it on purpose and he said yes. I asked him to stop, but he didn't so I tried to bribe him with a candy bar. It didn't work. He just kept on shrugging. This caused me to worry, but my friends and family assured me he was fine.
I am a naturally curious person that thirsts for knowlege of stuff I don't understand. So I Googled it. And WebMD'ed it. Then I googled it some more. I researched obsessively. Tourette's kept coming up and the shoulder shrug wasn't the only symptom he was exhibiting. I started to think maybe there was more to the blinking, chewing and throat clearing. Then the shoulder shrug went away.
Then in August he started snapping his jaw and rolling his eyes. Not like a sarcastic roll, but way back in his head. He was twitching again and once again became concerned. And once again I started researching. The comon theme of Tourette's kept popping up everywhere I looked on the internet.
Once I became convinced it was Tourette's Syndrome, I Researched until I could find no more information on it. Meanwhile, he started first grade. He spends most of the time in the principal's office. He rolls around on the floor, babbles and shouts, throws things, hits and spits. He wont stay in his seat and runs around all over the place. He hops around on the bus so much that they are threatening to kick him off. They hold him in the office until it is ready to leave before they let him on. He has been acting the same way at home. He will not sit still. Even if he is engrossed in a favorite cartoon, he is hopping around or jogging in place the whole time. The only time he sits relatively still is if he's drawing a picture. Even then he fidgets the whole time. And that is when he tics the most. His Tics now include hard blinking, eye rolling, fist clentching, head nodding, jaw snapping, grimacing, and echolalia.
We are in the evaluation process right now. The school thinks he has Apergers, but I resaerched it and he doesn't fit the profile. He doesn't have any obsessions and he is very capable of looking you in the eye while conversating. They are thinking that because he doesn't get along with anyone and he smart to the point of being "gifted". I am 100% conviced of the Tourette's, about 90% sure of the ADHA, and I'm starting to consider that ODD could possibly be a real disorder.
Vocally I don't know what is Tic and what is not. He is very obstinant. He is very rude. He says inapropriate things pretty much non-stop. He calls people names like poopie head says things like "I poop in your butt" just out of the blue, for no reason. He thinks it's hialrious. He licks people, smells everything, blows raspberries in peoples faces. When I ask him why he does or says some of these things, his excuses are either, because he can, because he wants to, or he just straight denies he even did it. Today he told me he Tics because it helps him think.
So I'm having a hard time with trying to figure out what is strictly behavioral and what is disorder and when I should discipline vs when I should be patient and tolerant. I don't want to punish him for something he can't control, but at the same time I don't want to let him get away with stuff just because he has a disorder. And NOBODY I talk to understands any of it. And they're not interested. So in essance, I litterally have NO support network.
So anyway, that's where we are now.
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