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InThisTogether
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14 Apr 2015, 9:52 pm

Not sure which forum will get the most set of eyes on my question, so starting here:

Can anyone recommend a book targeted toward teens regarding tics? My son (13) is having a serious upswing in his tics, and kids are asking him about it and it would be helpful if he could become better educated about it. I can tell him the "facts" about it, but it would help if someone could put it to him in age appropriate terms. My "textbook" explanations seem to be insufficient for him.

In case it matters, he said no one is teasing him. They are just curious why he is shaking his head so much. He tried to explain that his brain has a problem and it makes him feel the need to twitch, but if they ask questions more probing than that, he doesn't know what to say. One kid argued with him and insisted he must be sick if his "brain has a problem" and he got frustrated because he didn't know how else to explain it.


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Norny
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15 Apr 2015, 2:47 am

I don't know any books but I had the same happen to me just prior to 13 (11-12).

I managed to suppress most of my motor tics while at school but my phonic tics used to disgust my sister, so I presume that various others noticed them and were irritated by them too.

I don't think there is any way I could have explained it to them, that would have changed their minds. I just had to deal with it and let time pass. I disguised my tics with laughs and would 'save them' until nobody was around, and that worked out alright.


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EzraS
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15 Apr 2015, 3:44 am

You know an explanation like "involuntary motor reflex/action" should suffice for 13 year olds. I know what that means and they should to. If they were all like 8 that would be different.