Does my 7 year old have tourettes?

Question

I am thinking about making an appt with my GP about my 7 year old son because he has some strange habits:
Constantly clearing his throat
constantly sniffing.
I know that he doesnt NEED to do these things, but he has been doing this for about 12 month..it gets worse when he is tired or nervous.
i am probably being silly and paranoid, but i'm starting to think its tourettes...does anyone else have kids with tourettes, and what are your experiances?

Answer 1

ADVICE: take notes of what he is doing and how many times a day this occurs. Not a major notebook, just jot down the information. At his next regular check up, bring your notes and bring your husband with you. Physicians tend to take a set of parents more seriously than just a Mom (go figure)!

Information is vital for a diagnosis (of any kind, not just Tourettes). Give him/her the most information you can.

Ask your child's regular doctor for a referral to a Pediatric Neurologist. If he/she is hesitant to do this, persist. You are your child's BEST advocate! No one else will.

While you are waiting to see the Neurologist (usually a couple of months), video tape your child when the tics are obvious. Then bring the notes, your video camera (to show the tape) and your hubby to the Neurology appointment. The video tape will be helpful if the tics are not present at the prescribed day and time of the appointment.

To learn more about tics and symptoms of Tourettes, see this web site:
http://www.tsa-usa.org

Having Tourettes is not the worst thing in the world. My son has this disorder and he is smart, sweet, loving and wicked funny! He plays chess and is artistically gifted. He has friends in spite of being just a little bit different.

After spending some time in a Pediatric Neurology waiting room, I have learned to count my blessings and pray for others.

Teachers, school counselors, nurses, well meaning friends, and others (including me) are not qualified to diagnose Tourettes.

Best wishes for a good outcome.

Answer 2

Tourettes syndrome is about a lot more than having strange habits. Some kids do develop strange behaviours that can last for a while but that can just be part of their development. I would take him to your GP and tell him what is going on and how you feel, it could be anything or nothing. Good luck.

Answer 3

Well in order for a diagnosis of Tourette's to be made, there need to be two things: at least one verbal tic and multiple motor tics that occur many times a day nearly every day for a period of one year without a tic-free period that lasted longer than 3 months. Sounds to me like he may just a nervous habit, some of us pick our nails or twirl our hair, he clears his throat and sniffs. These kinds of behaviors are normal for children his age, especially boys. Nothing wrong with worrying about your child, though.

Answer 4

Try not to worry Do start with your family doctor see if he can see anything in your sons throat or nasal system but as you suspect it may be emotional or stress related go through his diet yourself dairy products can effect the sinus system so perhaps try soy milk products for a time if not goats milk as it is less irritating to the sinus system for your other concerns, I would research how to get your son assessed in your area by professionals such as a paediatrician and or child psychologist, how is he at school? At 7 he should be at a certain develpomental level, the school should also be able to give you their opinion (if any) on his abilities and cognitive level. You may be worrying about stuff he will grow out of but If I was you I would want a couple of professional opinions as anything discovered out of the ordinary is always best treated or managed as early as possible. Best of luck I hope he is ok, you will have to come back on this to update us of his progress.

Answer 5

I am a nurse, and a good pediatrician will be able to tell you if you have anything that needs to be checked out. It is my experience that moms know their kids better than anybody and if you are concerned, get it checked out. Tourettes is taking it a little too far right now. But moms always worry about the worse.

Answer 6

My son has tourette's, it started showing when he was about 8, The symptoms you describe are very typical of t.s., contact the association for tourette's syndrome at Bay side, n.y., they will send you all the info on it.
Also in the library there are many books on it, when you read this literature, you will know.

Answer 7

I would take him to the doctor, but if you fell silly about taking him to the doctor, because you think they may accuse you of trying to find something wrong with him, i would talk to about it with like your mum or his teacher and ask is this normal for a 7 year old, will he outgrow it, and stuff like that. But at the end of the day if you are not happy take him to the doctors.

Answer 8

my cousin had exactly the same thing, my aunt to her to the gp and it turned out to be a habit that she had developed. it carried on but eventually she stopped as she got older. its a form of OCD but nothing to worry about. just go to the gp though to put ur mind at ease x

Answer 9

thats weird, when i was around that age i constantly cleared my throat and also i tensed my face a lot, i blame my sega master system console playing it too much but it went away naturally after time, no medical required, only lasted 6 months I THINK

Answer 10

what about OCD.
or it could be stress related

what about a sinus infection, another medical condition