Although blinking is the most common type of tic, the condition can involve any area of the body. From clearing the throat to repeatedly grimacing, the repetitive behaviors and sounds worsen under stress and fatigue. Tics affect up to 25 percent of all children, and the most common type -- transient tics -- disappears in less than one year. Chronic tics may persist for years, though this condition is much less common than the transient form. To meet the criteria for Tourette syndrome, children must have complex, chronic tics that occur nearly every day for at least one year.
Step 1
Ignore the tic initially, provided the condition isn’t too disabling or afflicting multiple muscle groups. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, focusing on the tic often makes the problem worse. Instead, focus on building the child's self-confidence and social skills. Privately discuss the symptoms with your child’s pediatrician to rule out obsessive-compulsive disorder, Huntington’s disease, epilepsy or another disorder.
Step 2
Reduce stress in the household and at school. Because tics can only be controlled momentarily with conscious effort, it’s inappropriate to use punishment as a strategy for reducing the behavior. Discuss your child’s tic with his teacher and explain that tics are involuntary and hereditary. If other students begin to tease your child, ask the school to pull aside the students and discipline them appropriately.
Step 3
See a behavioral therapist if the tic causes problems with daily functioning at home or school. Habit reversal training, or HRT, has a 64 to 100 percent success rate, reports The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders. Using the principles of HRT, children can identify when a tic is about to occur. When they feel the urge to perform the behavior, they execute a competing behavior instead. If the child has a tic that consists of jerking her arms, she will learn to sit on her hands or cross her arms when she feels an impending tic.
Step 4
Consider medication if behavioral treatments fail. Pediatricians typically prescribe the lowest dose that provides symptom relief. Although the medications can cause sedation, some medications are beneficial and can be given at bedtime, according to The Movement Disorder Society.
Tips and Warnings
- Every child’s body chemistry is different, so a specific set of nutritional guidelines has not been developed for tic disorder. Avoiding pesticides and artificial ingredients may help. Omega-3 fatty acids, organic foods and a multivitamin may provide additional nutritional support. New treatments, including transcranial magnetic stimulation and deep brain stimulation, are in the pipeline for intense tics that fail to respond to medication. Doctors reserve injections of botulinum toxin for severe cases.
References
- MedlinePlus; Facial Tics; Linda J. Vorvick, M.D., et al.; March 2011
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Facial Tics - Treatment; Luc Jasmin, M.D., Ph.D., et al.; February 2008
- Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders: Tic Disorders
- "Movement Disorders"; The Management of Tics; David Shprecher, D.O., et al.; November 2008
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tourette Syndrome
- MedlinePlus; Transient Tic Disorder; Joseph V. Campellone, M.D., et al.; March 2011
