Thank you very much for your post. It is nice to hear your story.
Did you actually take your son to any specialists for a diagnosis?
These sound very much like what we have seen him display on and off for several years. They seem to come and go but typically manifest as facial postures or now audible grunt sounds.
He says he doesn't feel any discomfort and that if he wants to he can stop doing it. I don't think that is necessarily the case. I don't want to make him feel more uncomfortable by always pointing it out but I feel the need to ask at this point. I also don't want to pressure him to internalize it if it is difficult to control.
Have you ever tried to seek medical advice?
Thank you,
DAG
These sound like tics, to me.
My son who is now 15 is also social, sweet, and well adjusted. He has a lot of nice friends, and teachers tend to like him. He's agreeable, and funny, and interesting. He has tics that come and go. He has had coughing, grunting, blinking, wincing, flinching tics since 5 years old.
They come and go. He is usually tic-free, but that's only like 70% of the time. He can put off a tic, but he describes it like "wanting to blink". During a time where he is having tics, he can't go longer than like 10 seconds without exhibiting it. It's very noticeable.
On the other hand, all is well except that. I've been really surprised that his peers don't make fun of him - the few that have said they notice it have been supportive.
I hope somehow this helps you.