Asperger's Syndrome and Tics

Aspergers can have many complications such as tics. Tics are rapid sudden movements of muscles in your body or tics can be sounds. Both kinds of tics are very hard to control and can be heard or seen by others. However some tics are invisible like toe crunching or building up tension in your muscles.

Simple tics involve just one group of muscles and are usually short, sudden and brief movements such as twitching the eyes or mouth movements. Some simple tics can be: head shaking, eye blinking or lip biting. Simple vocal tics can be: throat clearing, coughing or sniffing.

Complex tics involve more than one muscle group and are longer movement which seem more complex such as jumping, hoping, touching people, hitting yourself or pulling clothes. Other complex vocal tics can be: repeating words of others or yourself all the time or repeating out loud what you have read.

Tics may increase as a result of negative emotions such as stress, tiredness or anxiety, but positive emotions as well, such as excitement or anticipation. These emotions are often experienced in those diagnosed with Aspergers. A strong urge can be felt before the tics appear and sometimes with intensive therapy these urges can be suppressed. When tics or urges to have tics are suppressed there can be a built up off other tensions or even stress. Often when the tic is gone those who suffer from it feel a sense of relief.

Whenever kids with Aspergers focus their energy on something else like play computer games or watching TV their tics are decreasing due to relaxation.

What's a Tic?

A tic is a sudden, repetitive movement or sound that can be difficult to control. Tics that involve movements are called motor tics and those that are sounds are called vocal tics. Tics can be either simple or complex:

· Complex motor tics aren't as rapid as simple motor tics and can even look like the person is performing the tic on purpose.

· Complex motor tics usually involve more than one muscle group.

· Complex vocal tics involve more meaningful speech (such as words) than simple vocal tics.

· Simple motor tics involve a single muscle group.

Shoulder shrugging is one of the most common simple motor tics; others include:

· eye blinking
· facial grimacing
· head twitching
· jumping
· kicking
· lip biting
· nose wrinkling
· repetitive or obsessive touching

Common vocal tics include:

· barking
· coughing
· grunting
· hissing
· sniffing
· throat clearing

Transient vs. Chronic Tics—

It's perfectly normal to worry that a tic may never go away. Fortunately, that's not usually the case. Most tics are temporary and are known as transient tics. They tend to not last more than 3 months at a time.

In rarer instances people have tics that persist for an extended period of time. This is known as chronic tic disorder. These tics last for more than a year. Chronic tics can be either motor or vocal, but not both together.

Diagnosis—

Tics can sometimes be diagnosed at a regular checkup after the doctor asks a bunch of questions. No specific test can diagnose tics, but sometimes doctors will run tests to rule out other conditions that might have symptoms similar to tics.

Embarrassment Associated with Tics—

Many times, people don't see themselves having a tic — they're not walking around with a huge mirror at all times! So it's only natural that they may think that their tic is the worst tic ever. Of course it isn't, but it's still a concern for many people with tics. And these exaggerated thoughts can cause unnecessary feelings of embarrassment or angst, and actually make the tic worse.

Nobody wants to make tics worse, but is there any way to make them better? While you can't cure tics, you can take some easy steps to lessen their impact:

· A tic? What tic? If a friend of yours has a tic, don't call attention to it. Chances are your friend knows the tic is there. Pointing it out only makes the person think about it more.

· Avoid stress-filled situations as much as you can — stress only makes tics worse. So get your work done early and avoid the stress that comes with procrastination and last-minute studying.

· Don't focus on it. If you know you have a tic, forget about it. Concentrating on it just makes it worse.

· Get enough sleep. Being tired can makes tics worse. So make sure to get a full night's rest!

· Let it out! Holding back a tic can just turn it into a ticking bomb, waiting to explode. Have you ever felt a cough coming on and tried to avoid it? Didn't work out so well, did it? Chances are it was much worse. Tics are very similar.

In certain cases, tics are bad enough to interfere with someone's daily life and medication may be prescribed.

Don't let a little tic dictate who you are or how you act. Learning to live with and not pay attention to the tic will make you stronger down the road.

The Parenting Aspergers Resource Guide: A Complete
Resource Guide For Parents Who Have Children Diagnosed
With Aspergers Syndrome.