Weird movements, not Terrets

[singlemom2263]

My son is five and on and off he goes through eprisodes, sometimes weeks at a time where he chomps his teeth together.  It almost seems uncontrollable, he will be doing a project, watching a movie or even just waking up and he will start doing it over and over.  I asked his pediatrician what he thought was going on and he said it is just a tick.  Some kids have more elaborate ones than others (kind of when dealing with stress or change).  I don't make a big deal about it in front of him but I worry because it is so continuous sometimes, I don't want to overlook if something is going on.  Any ideas if it is just a tick, or a real problem.

[Cleveland Mom]

Ask your pediatrician for a referral for a specialist to evaluate your son's tic.  You could be referred to a pediatric neurologist or child psychologist or possibly another type of specialist.  You deserve to have your concerns addressed in a thorough manner.  Best wishes...

[A MOMS LIFE]

My six year old daughter is kind of doing the same thing.  She stretches out her mouth wide.  It started with biting her finger nails then went to this stretching of her mouth.  I noticed when I tried to get her to stop she would start blinking her eyes a lot.  She started it when her mouth was dry with winter skin.  It got so bad that even her teacher said something to me.  Her doctor told me the same thing that it was just a tick and very normal for children her age.  I stopped trying to get her to stop and just said nothing about it...now she still does it but she doesn't stretch out her mouth as wide and isn't so noticeable anymore.  I figured the doctor must be right since the eye blinking thing takes over when she tries not to do the mouth thing.  Hope this helps....

Always MOM  

[cherilewthwaite]

Wouldn't being assessed by a doctor make it worse?  We know what it is, they're alive and well to all other degrees.  Reduce the stress surrounding them, make sure they're having fun and not being bullied and ignore it for a while before probing I'd say.  Best of luck!