My son also has tics (he's 11-y-o). Our pediatrician referred us to a neurologist, and he put my son on Tenex (also called guanfacine). This has taken the edge off the tics for the most part. They still show up when he is excited about something.

The medication was a little scary at first. It knocked him out a lot in the beginning, but he grew a tolerance for it. Also, he's always done fairly well in school, but after putting him on the medication, he's been getting straight A's on his report card. The doctor thinks it's probably helping with concentration.