Hi everyone,
I haven't written for a while but thought I'd ask around for input on something that's going on with my 5, almost 6 year old daughter. Sorry for the long post. Background: DD has not been tested yet, but is clearly gifted. She spoke clearly as a baby (numerous clear words at 6 mos and full sentences before 12 mos). Her vocabulary was/is huge. Her developmental history/milestones and her sense of humor were/are extremely advanced. She's a native Spanish speaker and is currently reading in both English and Spanish at a 3rd grade level, and is equally fluent in both languages. She is finishing up a successful year in K (it had a lot of free play and a loving, flexible teacher). She has some differentiation in language arts and reading, but not near her actual level. DD is very social and has good social skills, makes friends easily, loves her teacher and was a standout in class. She's a confident kid in general with a very intense, very sensitive (but very sunny) personality.
She doesn't express worry about social situations/dynamics (loves free play with friends) but expresses a lot of concern and worry for the environment (cries hard about the trees that monkeys live in getting cut down), the homeless, etc. She saves money and passes it out to the homeless. When she has one of her crying spells, it frequently turns into crying about the family cat who died when she was four and her missing two kittens that we fostered who were adopted by another family. She is heavily existential and talks about death and heaven a lot. She cries when bugs get stepped on. She has been monitored by a pediatric neurologist since she was two for frequent tics (which she has had consistently since she was a toddler) and has an official diagnosis of OCD and Tourette's (Tourette's for throat clearing and grunting vocalizations). Nothing has been done as far as interventions because the tics haven't gotten in the way of much. She hasn't gotten teased yet about them because she's still young and is a popular kid. She's gone through several "tic storms" before where she develops a new tic or tics and then tics very heavily for a period of time. Her tics are worse when she's anxious or tired.
Right now, she is in the middle of the worst tic storm of her life. I've never seen anything like it. Eye tics and rolls, mouth grimaces, shoulder shrugs and jerks, neck movements, arm flapping, etc, all constantly (usually she has just a couple of dominant movements) What I'm most concerned about is that she's injured herself twice because her tics are so extreme-- in the last couple of days she's pinched a nerve in her neck from shrugging upward so hard and has hurt her thigh by repeatedly hitting it with her elbow in the same spot (sore). I'm going to take her back to the pediatric neurologist to be looked at. She also has a history of picking at scabs obsessively so they don't heal and leave a scar. There is nothing causing extra stress in her life right now, and she is a happy kid. I just don't know what is causing this! When I ask her if she can not do the tic, she says it feels too good/ she can't not do it. She doesn't seem especially worried or self-conscious about it, but I wonder if that will change if/when she gets teased.
I thought that maybe folks on this board might have some insights. Anyone else have a kid/situation like this? Is this linked to giftedness in any way? A friend suggested giving her magnesium-- anyone have success with that? I'm very reluctant to try medication with her. Would cognitive behavioral therapy help? Any other recommendations or accommodations to try? Thank you so much!
