Dear Rem,

It is not so important to find out whether these "habits" have medical label for them or not. If they, do, the medical approach won't treat what causes them. Having acid reflux and allergies at that age shows that he has been having major digestive problems already. At that age, he can already do liver flushes at 1/2 dosage of everything (see THe Amazing Liver Cleanse). Dietary changes according to his body type, having the main meal at lunch time, going to be early (kids that age need about 10 hours of sleep), avoiding junk food and fast foods, sugar (except xylitol, stevia, mannose) soft drinks (see THe Key to Health and Rejuvenation, ener-chi.com for more details on these and other causal facors)is all needed to restore normal healthy fucntions in the stomach, liver, and intestines. \

These "habits" occur when there is a weekness in a corresponding part of the body. If there is stoamch problem, he may develop a tik beside his mouth, or use the upper lip muscles to make a sound. If the colon is involved, the lower lip may be affected by this. The eye muscles beccome involved when the liver and kidneys require more or less constant little energy bursts. It is important that you don't discourage him to do what he is doing, for this can affect his body even more, and cause him to develop a self-confidence problem later in life. When the causes are gone, the effects will disappear naturally.

Andreas

Hi Rem,

You might want to read more about Tourette's Syndrome. This might help you understand what your son is going through.

There are many great books out there. There's a free book from the Tourette's Syndrome Association http://www.tsa-usa.org/ called "Erica's Little Secret," as well as "Icy Sparks" an Oprah featured book. There's also "Twitch and Shout" by Lowell Handler, and I especially recommend reading a book by Oliver Sachs, "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat." Sachs reminds us to look at the WHOLE PERSON, and not the "disease" and then the "person" as separate. It is important not detach one from the other.

Many Touretters have amazing personalities, energy, and creativity. It is believed that Wolfgang Amadeus Motzart had Tourette's Syndrome. Many Touretters are quite talented when it comes to music, mathematics, etc. Many find that engaging in something like creating music, singing, or other such activities puts them in a "in a tic free zone."

Polly Draper (an actress who played on the show "Thirty Something" married a man with Tourette's (Michael Wolff). When their son developed tics, it forced Michael to come to terms with his TS, and Polly wrote and produced a movie called, "The Tic Code." I highly recommend it (you can probably find it on ebay.com). I read an article in a Redbook Magazine, November 2003 about Polly and her family called "One Family's Struggle to be Normal." Her son compared his tics need to scream when a bomb drops, "only there's no bomb."

Most important, as I'm sure you know, love your son for who he is...all aspects of him.

Warmly,
1834

In order to be classified as Tourette's a person must have at least 2 motor tics and 1 vocal tic during the same time period for at least a year. If someone in his father has Tourette's, the chances of his father passing it along to your son are quite likely. I have heard of people trying a Gluten-free diet with an attempt to control tics. I don't know if it works, but I am going to be going Gluten-free to see if it works becaus eI have Tourette Syndrome. As far as environment goes, stress makes tics worse, so keeping your son in a stress-reduced environment (as much as possible) should help some. The only thing that really effectively reduces my tics is medication. I take 1mg of Haldol each day and it is so effective that other people don't even notice my tics at all.