Is eye squinting Tourettes?
Considering I'm on the AS (Aspergers) and given Tourettes is on the AS, is eye squinting related to Tourettes?
When I say squinting I mean forceful blinking of the eye, very hard. Sometimes I will roll my eyeballs upwards, or make rapid movements with the eyelids. It does appear to be twitching to someone from the outside.
I've had this from birth, and 29 years later I still have it. It's not related to my vision. Glasses have never stopped it. And some days it's very bad where I will do it every 10 seconds throughout the whole day. But I'm rarely aware I'm doing it unless it's bad. It seems worse under stress or anxious situations.
Is this related to Tourettes? I've not had the report from my Psych regarding my AS diagnosis so I'm not sure what she's written about it. It was clearly visible to her during the diagnosis meeting and its on all my other reports but nobody has mentioned anything.
Do you mean that Tourettes is on the autism spectrum? It's a neurological condition, often comorbid with ADHD and OCD.
The movements you describe do sound like tics. When I was younger, I had pretty severe OCD along with tics like blinking, coughing, clearing my throat, and deep breathing. The difference between you and I is that mine got better over time.
Since you've had this from birth, it does sound like TS tics. Here is a great link for the disorder: http://www.tsa-usa.org/aMedical/whatists.html
It could also be OCD, although I doubt that more because you aren't aware of it most of the time it seems. I would check on ruling out other neurological conditions and/or side effects from medications.
Yeah. I actually remember it being referred to as "tic" like in the past. And I agree, I doubt it's OCD because I'm often told by people I am doing it and I don't realise. My parents tried to stop it when I was younger, but couldn't.
The deep breathing thing you mention my younger brother used to do it. He also had this "habit" of touching his face, then his nose, then moving his lip in an odd angle. He had that for about 3 years. That cleared though. Then he had a "habit" of rolling his eyebrows. But his has all cleared up and he does non of those.
Could be related, or in the genetics, but if it was "tics" in his case he'd still have them. And if mine were like his mine would have went.
I'm not on medication at the moment so not sure about that. I will wait for this detailed report to come back and hope it mentions something.
Thanks for the link will check that out.
auntblabby
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I have a huge problem with this, and it happens most when in a social situation, or other times of anxiety. I have to close my eyes really hard and roll my eyes down then back up. If I don't do it it feels like i'm going to explode. I'm 99% sure I have tourette's. People tell me I squint when talking to them. Not sure if I actually squint my eyes the entire conversation or i'm doing my eye rolling thing. I have many other things like this but the eye rolling/squinting is the worst.
Why in the world should be Tourette's on the autism spectrum?
Tourette's is usually considered to be on the OCD-spectrum in fact. I dunno if I agree with that or not. The most common comorbidities are ADHD and OCD. Tourette's and autism can go along together, but not even that common. So far I remember 6% of all autistic ppl have some kind of tic disorder and in the general population it's 2-3%. But in fact most ppl with Tourette's have either OCD or ADHD in addition or even both.
It's possible that this what you describe is a tic, but it's best you talk to a doctor about it. You said it's not related to your eyes, because glasses didn't help against it, but what's with dry eyes or maybe other possibilities? It's best first to check for all the other possibilities to make sure it's nothing else. Also if this is a tic and this is your only tic, than this is a "tic disorder", but not Tourette's. To get dx with Tourette's you need to have at least 2 motor tics and one vocal tic.
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"I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown." - Woody Allen
I think so. Blinking is a common tic in my family, but it seems as though females have an immunity towards it. My sister doesn't have any tics, while my brother tics when he's really nervous and I tic all the time because I have Tourettes.
The eye roll thing you described is something I have too. It's most definitely a tic. However, it's not related to Aspergers. Autistic people are more prone to develop tics or have Tourettes, than really any other neurological disorder.
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Shedding your shell can be hard.
Diagnosed Level 1 autism, Tourettes + ADHD + OCD age 9, recovering Borderline personality disorder (age 16)
What do you mean exactly?
The most common neurological disorder in autistic ppl is epilepsy, but this is especially common in ppl with LFA.
_________________
"I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown." - Woody Allen
What do you mean exactly?
The most common neurological disorder in autistic ppl is epilepsy, but this is especially common in ppl with LFA.
I meant with autistic people are just more prone to tic than non-autistic people.
_________________
Shedding your shell can be hard.
Diagnosed Level 1 autism, Tourettes + ADHD + OCD age 9, recovering Borderline personality disorder (age 16)