Yes I have Ts. Head jerking neck ticcing and shoulder shrugging is my way of life. I would love to meet people with the same condition lets talk!

Hi! I have some questions. How do you deal with your tics in your daily life? As for me, gum is helping me a lot when it comes with head jerking and sleeping eventually when I get home.

Hi and welcome

My son has TS. It was hard when he was younger but he is in his 20s now and things are very much better.

I think you may like these 2 websites to learn more about TS and how to cope better with ticcing

Life's A Twitch

and
Tourette Syndrome Plus

My son does better with having whit noise in the background for sleeping and also relaxing in a tub of Epsom salt before bed.

I second the Epsom Salts baths...that is magnesium sulfate. My son has been using these since he was fist dx age 10...so 14 years.

Kitkath, if you are interested in natural ways that can help with TS, I have a thread about what helped my son http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1145.html

I am 23 and I've "suffered" from Tourettes my whole life. I discovered this forum when recovering from a nasty concussion and inner ear trauma and noticed it has a wide range of conditions, including tourettes. I have a neck, face, hand, and leg tics. I've sort of conditioned myself to repress the tics when in a social situation and let them all out when I am alone. The feeling you get when you repress these tics is called a premonitory urge and can cause anxiety if held in too long. But I fight through them. I dont let anything stop me. I am an accomplished musician, athlete, and I am working towards a double Bachelors in Economics and History and have plans to attend graduate school to earn an MBA. This is a hard disability to live with, but a solid attitude and a focused mind, it cant hold you back.

My 14 year old son suffers ocd and tourettes he head shakes nods blinks nose twitch says inapropiate comments etc it would be nice to hear from you all and does any one suffer anger meltdowns? Thanks

Hi Katy,
Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups. Here is some info. that may be helpful to you. It is actually not uncommon for children who have comorbid conditions as well as their tics to have problems with meltdowns. Look for particular triggers, e.g. is he more prone to having these meltdowns when he gets home from school.

Rage Attacks or Storms - Leslie Packer TS "Plus"

Overview of "Rage Attacks" - Leslie Packer TS "Plus"

Let us know more and perhaps we can make some suggestions. My son had this problem when he was young (adult now) but he is also on autism spectrum and in retrospect I see how that was a huge impact. His days in school were pretty darn stressful for some years there when he was young. He spent a lot of his time and energy trying to suppress his tics. He did a lot better when certain modifications were put in place to make his days less stressful. Long story.

Let us know more.

My sons meltdowns r at school an home school report it can take upto 40 mins to calm him down .he rocks, pulls his hair,punches walls, bites himself etc He has autistic traits but im convinced he has mild autism .Reports read like he is autistic too.but school r hit n miss on there replies to questionaires but i continue to oppose them.He also has sensory issues as in clothes tags get ripped out an chewing drink tops doesnt like light touch and loud voices.He also has bowel issues as in he often cant get to toilet in time and starts to soil but on med 4 that he also takes 150 mg of setriline 4 his ocd but shrink may b mixing a new drug in too.his ocd fear is death an cancer deseases and germ.He has mild development delay also.He has had speech n language on n off thru out the years.hope this is enuf info if not u can ask me specific questions thanks so much 4 your reply i appreciate u time xx

Hi again Katy,
Well, he certainly has a lot going on there. I hope you have good support for yourself from family and friends as you try to figure this all out.

Just from reading your message, my suggestion would be to follow your instincts and ask for a multidisciplinary evaluation for Autism Spectrum condition if that's never been done. I'm no expert, but I was in a somewhat similar place myself years ago.

If he has mild developmental delay then that may have blurred the lines a bit and the only way to truly know is for him to undergo the right assessments if they've not been done. e.g. if he has difficulties with speech and language that may affect the way he communicates and doesn't necessarily mean he has autism so the professionals may be overlooking other things that you observe.

Frankly, when my son was finally correctly diagnosed it was total and absolute relief as so many things made more sense. Have you spoken to his Psychiatrist and Speech and Language specialist about your concerns that he may be on Autism Spectrum?

If he does have Autism, and he's diagnosed correctly and he's set up in the right educational environment with people who understand Autism in children and teens, then he can only flourish. It sounds as if he's struggling right now, so my heartfelt suggestion is to go with your gut feelings and if you feel he's not been diagnosed correctly or is not receiving particular modifications or direction educationally or medically, then go for it. The sooner the better if he is indeed on Autism spectrum.

I see you are in the UK...
What is Autism from Autism.org.uk

Diagnosis What to Expect

There are other links on that UK site that talk more about education and schools etc..

Education Schools

p.s. another thought. Sorry if there are too many questions, but I wondered who actually diagnosed your son with Tourettes Syndrome? Was it a Psychiatrist or Neurologist. I also wondered if he had any phonic/vocal tics as well as the motor tics you mentioned. e.g. List of Common Tics