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8 year old boy, weird behaviors...
I am increasingly concerned about my 8 1/2 year old son. He frequently is making weird noises (weeeeeeeeeee or ahhhhhhhhhhh) along with strange facial expressions. He will sometimes pull his face while making these noises also. It has gotten to the point where I feel he can"t even have a conversation with me. I will try to ask him something and he will look at me and make these faces/noises. He can't just look me in the eye and talk! Sometimes before bed I will lay with him and talk, and he will be sticking out his tongue and making weird faces. Somehow this has not affected his social life- he does have friends, etc... In school his teacher has mentioned the distracting noises to me, as well as difficulty paying attention to what is going on. His school performance has declined in the last few months. He is in second grade. I took him to a neurologist 2 months ago and she said he had tourette's after seeing him for 15 minutes (during this time no odd behaviors), but I am not agreeing with this. It seems more compulsive. Any thoughts? I have an appt with a child psychologist in 2 weeks, also.
I agree with the above posts.
Mango - tics are compulsions. I think sometimes people confuse them with twitches or spasms, which are involuntary.
Children with tics are compelled by anxiety/strong desire to do repetitive actions like scrunching their face, clearing their throat, etc. While voluntary, the desire to do these repetitive behaviors is overwhelming.
I'm saddened the neurologist diagnosed him so quickly after not having witnessed the behavior. :(
I agree with the others that you should seek further evaluations.
My youngest son had facial ticks - he would scrunch up his face in a behavior like blinking really forcefully. He was compelled to do this cyclically - about every 6 months. He found that if he had to go without having a tic (for example, a brief conversation with a stranger) he would do his tic a lot of times over and over for several minutes, and then he could get through a minute without doing it.
It's so hard to watch our kids struggle. For what it's worth, my son is now 19 and no longer has that tic.
Mango - tics are compulsions. I think sometimes people confuse them with twitches or spasms, which are involuntary.
Children with tics are compelled by anxiety/strong desire to do repetitive actions like scrunching their face, clearing their throat, etc. While voluntary, the desire to do these repetitive behaviors is overwhelming.
I'm saddened the neurologist diagnosed him so quickly after not having witnessed the behavior. :(
I agree with the others that you should seek further evaluations.
My youngest son had facial ticks - he would scrunch up his face in a behavior like blinking really forcefully. He was compelled to do this cyclically - about every 6 months. He found that if he had to go without having a tic (for example, a brief conversation with a stranger) he would do his tic a lot of times over and over for several minutes, and then he could get through a minute without doing it.
It's so hard to watch our kids struggle. For what it's worth, my son is now 19 and no longer has that tic.
I think that you are doing the right things in terms of having your son evaluated by an MD and a psychologist to rule out any medical or psychological issues.
Do you feel that your son has any control of these behaviors? If not, this would definitely point to a neurological issue. If you feel that he can control these behaviors and that he is engaging in these behaviors to manipulate or annoy, perhaps discipline would be warranted.
Do you feel that your son has any control of these behaviors? If not, this would definitely point to a neurological issue. If you feel that he can control these behaviors and that he is engaging in these behaviors to manipulate or annoy, perhaps discipline would be warranted.
Hi there and welcome. I am so pleased you are already seeking professional help with this. Your son could have vocal and facial tics. my own son occasionally has a vocal tic in which he says a single word, yeah (called a complex tic, sounds are simple vocal tics). My son does it when anxious, nervous and excited. he does have some control over it.
Your son could also have this situation along with the facial tic. Tourette syndrome comes to mind. The lack of focus also is a piece of the puzzle.
A psychologist is a first step and I'd also confer with his medical doctor.
I'm so glad this hasn't impeded him socially but know that kids are mean and they can pick on something like that. Hope it doesn't happen!! Talk to the school about your investigation into what is going on and you can also request a full evaluation from them. He may need a plan in place to help him in the school setting.
Wishing you the best of luck. Let us know what happens!
Your son could also have this situation along with the facial tic. Tourette syndrome comes to mind. The lack of focus also is a piece of the puzzle.
A psychologist is a first step and I'd also confer with his medical doctor.
I'm so glad this hasn't impeded him socially but know that kids are mean and they can pick on something like that. Hope it doesn't happen!! Talk to the school about your investigation into what is going on and you can also request a full evaluation from them. He may need a plan in place to help him in the school setting.
Wishing you the best of luck. Let us know what happens!
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