Monster Man was in a performance at school yesterday, and it gave me a chance to realize something I had never noticed before. When he was up on stage, singing with the other students, he didn't have his usual eye blinking or throat clearing (or sniffing) tics. He was actually able to control them up on the stage, which really amazed me with how much he struggles to control them at other times.
He's always been a bit of a goof in front of a crowd. During VBS performances at other churches, Monster Man would be the one child rocking out on air guitar throughout the songs. When other kids are standing still singing, or even just swaying a little, Monster Man is the one that has to dance. Sure enough, while he wasn't tic-ing on stage last night, he was emphasizing words of the song with a swing of his arm or he was tilting his head from side to side to the music. It occurred to me last night that maybe, just maybe, these little antics are his way of controlling the tics. Most importantly, though - They kept a smile on his face!
I was so proud of Monster Man last night, watching him and knowing how hard he was working on the inside to keep his tics under control. Sometimes we take things like that for granted.
I mentioned previously that Monster Man started out with two noticeable tics and that the list grew significantly soon after we realized what we were dealing with. Of course, he doesn't have them all at the same time. They come and go, sometimes increasing in severity while others seem to dissipate. They seem to come out of thin air, and some seem to disappear just as quickly as they developed.
Some of Monster Man's tics include: - Forceful eye blinking - Throat clearing - Constant sniffing (he can even sniff and talk at the same time) - Nose twitching - Pulling his lips together on the sides while pushing out his bottom lip (kind of hard to explain) - Taking 3 steps then kicking himself in the back of the leg - Dragging his toes when wearing flip flops (he went through three pairs this summer before we finally figured out what was going on and had to make him quit wearing them so he wouldn't trip) - When he gets half-way up or half-way down the stairs, he changes pace and dips down (we always think he's going to fall because of the loud thud it makes) - Moving his arms in a waving motion, starting with the left hand up to his shoulder, turning his head, and then moving from his right shoulder down to his right hand (looks similar to a dance sometimes) - Pulling up the left side of his face, almost like a half-smile that forces his eye closed
There are so many more, but these are the ones that come to mind right now. Of course, some are more complex than others. We're still working to identify what all triggers certain tics. The only real obvious ones we've discovered are the flip flops causing him to drag his toes and anxiety causing him to pull his lips together.
