ADHD and Tics

[lovingmom4kids]

My 7 old son was diagnosed last week with ADHD, combined type.  He also has tics that have changed over time.  Currently, they are facial tics with mouth movements and shoulders shrugs, along with lip licking and eye blinking.

We have an appointment tomorrow with a neurologist in the area.  Couldn't get an appt with a pediatric neurologist before another 2 months, so scheduled with a neurologist that does see children his age.  

His pediatrician doesn't feel it's tourette's.  But, everything I've read says you never can tell...

Since his tics have progressed over the years, I've sorry concerned.

His pediatrician said that a lot of times, tics do coincide with ADD or ADHD.

He's not having any social concerns at school at this time, but I am extremely concerned with his grades, as he has starting having grave grades and not listening and following directions with his teachers, etc.

Any information is greatly appreciated.






This discussion is related to ADD/Tics.

[RockRose]

Yes,  ADHD kids often have tics because the drugs used to treat ADHD cause tics.

You are kind of describing a child with tardive diskensia.  The mouth movements,  and lip licking sound like a result of over medication,  not ADHD.

[DeeDeeP]

My son also has ADHD & tics, I find that the Feingold Diet www.feingold.org has really helped w/ the hyperactivity and somewhat with tics.  His tics are jumping around and odd hand motions like he's conducting an orchestra.  I notice that when he eats things that contain artificial colors, it's definitely worse.  The feingold diet removes all artificial colors & preservatives.  I would recommend trying dietary changes before going for meds.  We also give him Omega-3 fish oil caplets.  When he's following the diet (just good wholesome food by the way) he is much calmer and less frustrated.  

[momof2boys1979]

My 7 y/o son was diagnosed with ADHD, and started taking Focalin. He didn't start ticking until AFTER the medication...so I agree, it is the medicine. We took him off of it. I feel it is something we are going to work through without medication.

[Lezzart]

My son is almost 12. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was seven. His un-ability to concentrate and his uncontrollable urge to move all the time, made it difficult for him at school. He would get teased allot and his grades were suffering. Until he told me he wanted to die because he was tired of being teased and being different from the others. That's when I got him to a child psychologist. He HAD the eye blinking tick, and he would off climbed on the walls if he could off. Would stumble on his own feet, would fall down the stairs, would be so exhausted at night that he could not do hishomework and would forget everything. We have tried a couple of different medication, the side effects were worst then the syndrome itself.

BUT ADHD is a disease, it's a neurological disease. If a child has tourette  syndrome, nobody will try to cure them with a special healthy diet. It's also not a lack of discipline or a child just being stubborn and acting up for attention. They are highly intelligent kids, their brain absorbs so much information but it does not get filled up in their brain, it bounces around all over the place. They are manual, they love to tear things apart and see how they work, they LOVE to help out, extra shores makes them happy has long has the work load can be done in a short matter of time and they know they are being helpful and appreciated. They need short and direct directives. One thing at a time, not a list of things to do because they will have forgotten half of what you said by the time you finished your sentence.

After several months of research I came around a new medication developed in the UK called "Stratera". It is given in doses according to their hight and weight. There is side effects. But, their temper does not change, they keep on growing normally, they sleep well and it's one dose a day and by the evening the effects have already disappeared.
They have less appetite, so you need to make sure they eat plenty and healthy.

My son has been on it for almost two years. He now has a social life, he went from an adapted school program to regular ones. His grades when up, he functions better in the family, feels useful and intelligent. He has no more ticks. He is still my son, still likes to tease and clown around, his personality is the same, he is not a zombie. He now has a great quality of life and feels like he is the same has everyone else. The school was a great help in working with us and explaining to the school community what ADHD was so the kids would not tease anymore.

My son is great, and I am so proud of him. He came a long way. We need to give them the tools and the help they need in order to function away from our wings and make them productive human beings that have a good self esteem and can be proud of themselves without having Mommy and Daddy telling them they did a great job.

Thanks!

[Kelly12368]

My 4 1/2 year old son has had tics for 3 months (eye blinking, eye rolling, lip pursing, bunny nose squint) and has a lot of energy but too young to be diagnosed with ADHD (according to 3 school psychologists I have consulted with - 1 assessed him).  He was identified with a learning disability (auditory processing deficits).  He is not on any medication.  The tics may or may not be the result of meds.  We are getting a referral to a Pediatric Neurologist and my son started the Feingold diet today.  Tourette's Syndrome is usually not diagnosed before having tics for a year and usually include other symptoms.  (OCD/Ritualistic behavior, vocalized tics, tics in extremities and some others).  If anyone has any other suggestions, please post.  This is what I know so far.

Kelly

www.tsa.org
www.feingold.org