~So this past week I noticed something new in Ethan.
~He kept shrugging his left shoulder, inconsistently. My first thought: "OMG, my son has a tic"
~I kept it to myself initially, waiting to see if it continued to occur. Sure enough it did.
~So then I did the worst thing EVER...I Googled "tics in toddlers" Let me just put out a Public Service Announcement to all Mothers (both current & moms-to-be) DO.NOT.EVER.DO.THIS!!! I mean it!! Sure enough, I found a website that said "tics typically develop between the ages of 2-18" then it went on to list some of the common tics "shoulder shrugs" was included. By this time, I am completely freaking out. The only "positive" information I found was that many tics go away on their own, but I wasn't entirely buying that since it wasn't a "sure thing"
~On Wednesday I called the daycare to ask them to keep an eye out for him and see if they observed anything. They did not. I started to feel better. Until I got home and saw it happen again.
~As I continued to ponder making an appointment for the pediatrician, I was happy to be able to spend all day Thursday and Friday with E in observation-mode.
~Thursday I saw the shoulder shrug a few more times. Still only on the left side. We went to lunch w/my mom and she saw it too. :(
~Finally, on Friday morning as we watched Toy Story 2 (for the bazillionth time), I saw him shrug the shoulder again, but this time I noticed something else....he was ASKING A QUESTION AT THE SAME TIME!!!! After more observation, it turns out that he shrugs his shoulder when he is asking question...it's likely something he picked up at school along the way. I'm just relieved it's not a tic.
~Again...DO NOT GOOGLE ANY MEDICAL STUFF...you are bound to find something that will just make you worry more. Take it from me!
4 comments:
In elementary school I did this... thing with my face in which I would tense the muscle in my cheek and scrunch up my nose. I have no idea why. It drove my mother crazy. Lucky for me I grew out of it!
I did WebMD on something one time and made myself think I was was having an ectopic pregnancy. lol
I'm glad it's just something he does and isn't a tic. :)
Happy Mother's Day!
Yeah, don't you remember my post from late 2008, "The Internet is the Devil?"!!! Especially if you read a bazillion sites.
My nephew has just developed a few tics. His ped said he'd likely grow out of them. Of course, the in-laws had already drawn lots of attention to them, which I think has made it worse. So I think you're supposed to ignore them; he'll either outgrow it, or if he's doing it for attention you'll just make him do it more, and if it does turn out to be a true tic, drawing attention can make him more self-conscious (nephew's problem!), and exacerbate it. Interesting though how he only does it when asking questions!
Amy - I do remember your post now that you mention it. Lesson Learned.
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