Tic disorder
Early intervention is critical for the success of the tic disorder.
Recently, the number of children who show tic disorder symptoms has rapidly increased due to an increased time at home and using the internet for study.
Tic disorder among children is to show sudden twitches, movements or sounds that people repeatedly do. People who have tics cannot stop their bodies from doing these things. For example, a person might keep blinking over and over. It is recommended for parents to see any of the symptoms of tic disorder and take the children to specialists.
If the treatment of the symptom is delayed, it could develop chronic tic disorder. Tic disorder is accompanied by Tourette syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, major depression, and ADHD.
Types of Tic Disorder
The symptoms could be treated by following classifications.
- Motor Tic Disorder: Keep on blinking or moving eyes. Twitching the nose or frown. Forcing out the lips. Shaking the head, arms, and legs. Shrugging shoulders.
- Complex Motor Tic Disorder: Biting or beating the other children or himself. Obsessively touching an object. Jumping or stretching the arms and legs simultaneously. Imitating other people’s acts. Throwing objects.
- Vocal Tic Disorder: Making sounds like coughing or clearing his/her voice. Making a sniffing sound. Imitating snuffle sounds. Making sounds like spitting phlegm. Making saliva spitting sounds.
- Complex Vocal Tic Disorder: Repeating a word. Speaking something is not directly related to a situation. Imitating other people’s speaking. Cursing.
→ If a child does or speaks suddenly, rapidly, repetitively and arrhythmically, it is possible to suspect tic disorder.
Asian Medicinal Understanding of the symptom
- Anxiety due to the heart and gall bladder Qi deficiency → Phlegm is building and blocking the heart and gall bladder’s Qi and blood circulation and causing tic disorder. Children in the classification are easily frightened.
- Attention deficit due to hypofunction of the heart and spleen → The heart governs the spirit. And the spleen controls logical thinking and memory. Hypofunction of those organs could cause tic disorder. Children have difficulties with concentration and attention, leading to poor academic achievement.
- Liver Qi stagnation → Poor metabolic liver function could be a reason for tic disorder. The liver governs muscle and controls stress levels. The children in the group tend to be lack of energy. The children often say they do not want to go to school.
- Liver Qi turns wind → Accumulated heat in the liver, which controls muscle movement, could make involuntary motor movements. The children diagnosed with Liver Qi turns wind usually show symptoms that could be seen in ADHD.
The most frequently asked questions.
Is this one of the psychological issues?
- Is Tic disorder one of the psychological issues? Is it an organic mental disorder?
“The causes of the tic disorder are various. It could be organic, psychological, or physical. In some cases, stress triggers tic disorder in a child who potentially has tic disorder factor without noticeable symptoms. Or single factor like feeling stress could cause the symptom. It is also possible that brain damage could be a reason for tic disorder. But this is a rare case. Early detection and early treatment are the most important to expect successful symptom treatment.”
- Ignoring a child who shows possible tic disorder symptoms?
“In general, ignoring the child’s tic disorder symptoms could help. Criticizing the child’s behavior could make the symptoms worse. There is no absolute answer to the parents, but proper parental support could help the child’s treatment. The parents should know when the kid has more stress. Ensure your child does not feel a lack of communication and attachment with parents.”
- Is there a guidance for children who are diagnosed with tic disorder?
“Help your children not watch video clips on YouTube. Many children who have tic disorder experience worsened symptoms after watching exciting content. Guide your children to increase time for outside activities and decrease time for watching video clips. Also, sweets such as candy, cookies and chocolate could be harmful.”
- Is there a connection between rhinitis and tic disorder?
“Some children diagnosed with rhinitis exhibit repetitive behavior, such as wrinkling their noses or frowning foreheads due to uncomfortable feelings in their nasal cavities. This case should be separated from tic disorder. Usually, any behavior like motor tic symptoms will disappear after recovery from rhinitis. “