My 10-year-old started having facial tics last year. Before that, he often drummed his fingers on the table, or cracked his knuckles. It wasn't until the facial twitches started that we asked the ped.

He referred us to a neurologist who recommended Tenex. We hated the idea of medication, but he will be in Middle School next year and we wanted to stop this before he got there. We are currently at 2 pills a day, but it only has taken the edge off. We can go up to 3 per day, but aren't sure if we will.

I can't possibly tell you how much we agonized over our decision to medicate. But we talked to many other parents who went through the same thing and decided to at least try it. (I've heard 1 in 4 boys have tics, but most are mild.) We were so worried it would affect his personality.

The results were good and bad. He was always a fast runner, and it's slowed him down BIG TIME! He plays soccer and has lost all agressiveness in the game (although he wasn't too aggressive before.) The good news is, his grades have improved greatly. He always did OK before, mostly A's and B's with maybe one C per report card. This year, he made Principal's List for the first time ever. I think the the medication is helping him concentrate. I'll take that over soccer anyday.

We're thinking about putting him in some type of martial arts. The neurologist thinks the disipline will be better than soccer and he won't need the endurance.

My recommendation to you would be to ask for a referal to a neurologist and see what they think. Normally, I would wait to see if facial or vocal tics start, but if he's bothered this much, you may want to look into it now.

The little girl you talked about has vocal tics, which can be worse because everyone hears it. My friend's son had these and she honestly believes that some of his teachers discriminated against him because they would get aggrevated by the noise. (Medication completely stopped them. He's now in high school and off the tenex.)

Also, the neurologist suggests that team sports can add more anxiety (the root of the problem) and cause the tics to get worse. That's why he likes the martial arts because it causes them to focus more and maintain more control of their bodies.

One more thing our neurologist recommended is to come up with a line to use when someone mentions it. If another kid asks my son why he does it, he shrugs and says, "Everyone has a habit, this is mine. It's better than picking my nose." As long as they act like it's no big deal, or make a joke of it, the other kids will be less inclined to pick on him about it.