Adoptive Mummy

Girl is managing to keep her temper under control and I am very proud of her for that, one tiny little outburst in the past week but I have this theory. The more she is reigning in her temper the worse the tics are getting, it’s almost like a different release for what she is feeling, we are seeing new and quite specific tics being added all the time to the palilalia and zuzzing noises and I can’t help but tell her what she is doing, in the hope that she can try and take some control of them. She has no idea what she is doing of course and I know she can’t help it but I worry that people or more specifically her friends at school are going to start noticing because the tics are getting odder, more frequent and are no longer confined to noises.

Girl’s latest and most noticeable tics include repeatedly bobbing her tongue out very quickly like a snake while she is talking (and actually while she is being quiet too) and yesterday she started clicking too. I am filled with angst. On top of this the conversations are getting harder and harder, she just cannot process anything we tell her and it is frustrating to say the least.

Yesterday in the car on the way home from school I told her that a little boy from her class wanted to invite her round to play on Thursday, we ascertained that today was Monday and I got her to go slowly through the days of the week, she said Monday, Tuesday, Friday, so I got her to think about it and she did it correctly, because she can do these things but often says the first thing that comes into her head. I then repeated back to her slowly ‘so today is Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday and then you can play at your friend’s house.’ Thirty seconds later, ‘Mummy, what day is it today?’ (I count quickly to ten in my head and try to hold in an exasperated sigh) ‘OK Girl, we already worked out what day it is so have a think about what we just talked about and tell me what day you think it is?’. ‘Thursday’ came the reply. Start over. This is pretty much a typical conversation and I find it quite difficult to cope with them, I can’t work out how to get her to process what is being told to her and keep it in.

Along with the tics we are seeing a rise in controlling, demanding and bossy behaviour and feel like the time-bomb is close to explosion but you know what? I know when it comes we will cope and that is definitely something to be positive about, no matter how bad meltdown is with a united front we get through it.