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victorytea
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11 Mar 2012, 9:20 pm

My boy has had a multitude of twitches involving the eyes the mouth the hands etc. Now he is nodding his head frequently. I know aspies have twitches but I am worried that this may be tourettes. Seems like it is one thing after another with Caleb and I hope he doesn't have another "syndrome". Any help greatly appreciated- Paul



DJRAVEN66
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11 Mar 2012, 10:10 pm

Does he have any vocal tics? Hear is a list of potential disorders or they might just be stims.

American Psychiatric Association criteria for tic disorders
Diagnostic criteria for Tourette syndrome (DSM-IV-TR 307.23) are as follows:

•Both multiple motor and 1 or more vocal tics have been present at some time during the illness, though not necessarily concurrently. (A tic is a sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalization)
•The tics occur many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly every day or intermittently throughout a period of more than 1 year, and during this period there was never a tic-free period of more than 3 consecutive months
•The onset is before age 18 years
•The disturbance is not due to the direct physiologic effects of a substance (eg, stimulants) or a general medical condition (eg, Huntington disease or postviral encephalitis)
Diagnostic criteria for chronic motor or vocal tic disorder (DSM-IV-TR 307.22) are as follows:

•Single or multiple motor or vocal tics (eg, sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalizations), but not both, have been present at some time during the illness
•The tics occur many times a day nearly every day or intermittently throughout a period of more than 1 year; and during this period there was never a tic-free period of more than 3 consecutive months
•The onset is before age 18 years
•The disturbance is not due to the direct physiologic effects of a substance (eg, stimulants) or a general medical condition (eg, Huntington disease or postviral encephalitis).
•Criteria have never been met for TS
Diagnostic criteria for transient tic disorder (DSM-IV-TR 307.21) are as follows:

•Single or multiple motor and/or vocal tics (eg, sudden, rapid, recurrent, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalizations) are present
•The tics occur many times a day, nearly every day for at least 4 weeks, but for no longer than 12 consecutive months
•The onset is before age 18 years
•The disturbance is not due to the direct physiologic effects of a substance (eg, stimulants) or a general medical condition (eg, Huntington disease or postviral encephalitis)
•Criteria have never been met for TS or chronic motor or vocal tic disorder
•Specify if this is a single or recurrent episode
Tic disorder not otherwise specified (DSM-IV-TR 307.20): This category is for disorders characterized by tics that do not meet criteria for a specific tic disorder. Examples include tics lasting less than 4 weeks or tics with an onset after age 18 years.



victorytea
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13 Mar 2012, 1:15 pm

Thank you for posting that- Paul



momsparky
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13 Mar 2012, 4:45 pm

Tourettes and OCD are not uncommon co-morbidities with AS. DS had some tic-like behaviors, we bought "What To Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck" and it really helped - but they were more complex behavior.

Sometimes, some medications also have tics as a side effect.

However, head-nodding might be a kind of "stim" or self-stimulatory behavior, definitely part of AS: http://autism.about.com/od/autismterms/f/stimming.htm These are often calming behaviors, and are helpful to the person using them. If they become destructive or harmful, it's best to try to redirect them to a different behavior, rather than trying to stop them.



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14 Mar 2012, 5:48 am

I was also going to ask if he is on medication. Risperdal causes tics (tourette's) in young children. I would make videos of him if he does not do these tics all the time and take them to the doctor and let them decide. Typically a tourette's tic is hard to stop or is sometimes painful or painful to stop if you are able too. Just like stimming they can be more frantic when stressed. The best thing to do is to let your doctor decide. It sounds more like tics than stimms to me but without seeing a video I couldnt tell you and should be because Im not a doctor, I just know enough people with tourette's to know what it looks like.
I know a lot of people make fun of it and think it is all yelling out obscenities but that is actually rare...they may have vocal tics but the swearing is not typical at all. I get mad when people make fun of that, I dont find it amusing at all. Some stupid person I allowed on my FB put up a joke about that very same thing and when I was honest and told her that I thought it was inappropriate then she told me I was too sensitive and she blocked me, as if I was going to come after her. I got a notice that I was taken off her friend list and someone told me that she blocked me from the site we met on.....boo hoo, Im so sad, good riddance.
There are medications that help a lot and also some self calming techniques if he does have tics so dont get too upset and if it is his meds (if he is on any) than maybe after hes off of them the tics will stop.