Elijah

We had the follow up at the doctor office for the medication that Elijah is taking for his migraines. While there I was mentioning the noises he has been taking and also the eye blinking. The doctor asked a few more questions and came to the conclusion that Elijah has a mild case of Tourettes. I was reading about it and found this article to be a good way to explain it to my other boys. What should you know? Tourette syndrome (TS) is a condition of the central nervous system. It causes people to have “tics”. Tics are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. People who have tics cannot stop their body from doing these things. For example, a kid might keep blinking over and over again. Or, a kid might make a grunting sound unwillingly. Having tics is a little bit like having hiccups. Even though you might not want to hiccup, your body does it anyway. Sometimes people can stop themselves from doing a certain tic for awhile, but it’s hard. Eventually the person has to do the tic. The symptoms of TS generally become less severe during the late teen years. Among 20% to 30% of those with TS, the tic symptoms disappear entirely as the person with TS reaches his or her 20s. During sleep, tics are fewer and less intense. Most people with TS are able to hold jobs and lead full lives. Symptoms of Tourette syndrome usually emerge in childhood or the teen years. TS isn't common — only about 7 in every 1,000 people have it, and boys are more likely to be affected. The condition is not contagious. At certain times, like when someone is under stress, the tics can become more severe, more frequent, or longer, or the type of tic may change altogether. (This is also true of people who have tics that are not part of Tourette syndrome.) Some kids can suppress their tics for a short time. But tension builds, and it eventually has to be released as a tic. And if a person is concentrating on controlling the tic, it may be hard to focus on anything else. This can make it hard for kids with TS to have a conversation or pay attention in class. Tics are classified as either simple or complex. Simple motor tics usually involve just one group of muscles. Some examples are eye blinking and grimacing. In contrast, complex motor tics usually involve more muscle groups and might look like a series of movements. For example, someone might touch a body part or another person repeatedly. In rare cases, people with TS might have a tic that makes them harm themselves, such as head banging. Simple vocal tics can be throat clearing, sniffing, or humming, whereas complex vocal tics can involve repeating other people's words (a condition called echolalia) or involuntary swearing (called coprolalia). To be diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, a child must have several different types of tics — specifically, multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic. The medication that Elijah is taking for his migraines is also one of the same medications they perscribe for Tourettes.