Tics in children: usually brief, sometimes not.
Why new tics are common in young kids, what Tourette actually means, and when evaluation makes sense.
New tics are common in school-age children. Most are brief.
If your 6-year-old has started blinking hard, shrugging, or clearing their throat over and over, take a breath: transient tics are remarkably common, especially in children roughly ages 4 to 8, and most fade within months. Tics are involuntary, your child isn't doing it on purpose, and drawing attention to it or punishing it tends to make things worse.
Some patterns warrant evaluation: tics that persist beyond a year, multiple motor tics plus vocal tics (which is the picture of Tourette syndrome), tics that are painful or interfere with school and social life, or movements that look different from typical tics, rhythmic, happening in sleep, or coming with other changes. Tics also commonly travel with attention and anxiety difficulties, which is part of why a full picture matters.
A neurological evaluation can confirm that what you're seeing is a tic, rule out less common movement disorders, and give you a realistic sense of the likely course. Dr. Sedgh trained in both pediatrics and neurology and evaluates movement concerns from early childhood through age 18. If your child's tics are persisting, multiplying, or worrying you, you can request an in-person evaluation.
What counts as a tic, in ordinary language
A tic is a quick movement or sound that repeats and is hard to hold back. Blinking, shoulder shrugs, throat clearing, and little noises are typical examples. They often show up in the early school years and fade.
- When you first noticed them
- Whether there are movements, sounds, or both
- Whether they are new this month or have lasted many months
- Whether school has commented
Tourette is a clinical description for motor and vocal tics that have both been present for a long stretch of time, not a label for a week of blinking. Dr. Sedgh will not apply it from a webpage.
What changes the plan
Movement, sound, or both
Blinks and shrugs are motor. Throat clearing and little noises are vocal. Both together, over a long time, is a different conversation.
How new they are
Tics that started this season are often temporary. Tics present for many months deserve a clearer description.
Interference
Pain, embarrassment that stops participation, or tics that crowd out speech are reasons to evaluate rather than only watch.
Look-alikes
Staring spells and compulsive rituals are not tics. The history is how they are told apart.
What to expect.
Describe without naming
What moves or what sound, how often, and when it started. A short video is useful.
Exam
A neurological exam to separate tics from other spells and to see whether anything else is present.
Watch or treat as a later question
Many children are rechecked rather than medicated. Any medicine discussion stays in the visit, not on this page.
When an evaluation is reasonable
Ask sooner if tics are painful, if they are replacing speech or school participation, if other neurological signs appeared with them, or if you are unsure they are tics at all. A seizure, a compulsion, and a tic can be confused in a description. The visit is how those are separated.
Many children need reassurance and a plan to recheck, not a medicine. Doses are not listed here. Read what parents should know about tics.
Frequently asked questions
What should I show you?
Since tics often hide in the exam room, a short phone video of the movements is one of the most useful things you can bring. Dr. Sedgh will review when the tics started, how they've changed, and whether there are accompanying attention or anxiety concerns, then examine your child to confirm the movements are tics and not something else.
Are treatment prices on this page?
Cost depends on your insurance and the scope of the evaluation, and we don't publish fixed fees on patient pages. The practice can talk through expected costs when you request a visit.
Do transient tics need follow-up?
The initial evaluation happens in one visit. Because tics wax and wane naturally, the plan often includes watching the pattern over months, many childhood tics resolve on their own, with follow-up if they persist or begin to interfere with your child's life.
Are new tics an emergency?
Usually no. New blinking, shrugging, or throat clearing in a school-age child is common and often temporary. Ask sooner if the movements are painful, rapidly changing with other neurological signs, or you are not sure they are tics.
Does a week of blinking mean Tourette?
No. Tourette is not a label for a short run of one tic. It is a clinical description used when both movements and sounds have been part of the picture for a long time. That judgment belongs in a visit.