Are ticks cyclical? | Autism PDD

My ds stared having some simple ticks (throat claring, eye-blinking) last
year at this time. After about six month they went away. The only reason
that made me realize they were ticks as opposed to allergies were that
they dramatically increased on our short stint with stimulants. Now I just
noticed that the throat clearing started up again about the same time of
year they started last year. Does anyone know if they are cyclical or
random or are they triggered by stress?we see the tics as cyclical here too. However, it's easily explained - this time
of year is back-to-school time. It means more stress, anxiety, and
stimulation. Generally, things mellow out for us after Christmas.

Right now, between back to school, us doing renovations, and dh buying an
x-box yesterday, Donny is one big twitchy, ticcy mess Poor kid
doesn't know what to do with himself, and it's kind of cute. He doesn't seem
distressed by his ticcing, and I cope better if I think of it as a cute quirk,
rather than as a tic or behaviour, kwim?My daughter's tics do run in cycles. I will say though that they do seem stress related also. She is 10 and has been ticcing off and on since she was four. She takes Tenex, which greatly reduces her tics, however it does not stop them completely. She has only been medicated for a year. And the longest time she has been tic free since she was four is approximatley three to four months. By the way she has been diagnosed with chronic tic syndrome, not tourettes, although they say that she is not out of the danger zone for possible tourettes. She has had not vocal tics yet, (that I know of). Hers are mainly the eyes (blinking)and also some facial grimacing. She has this new thing that I am watching now though which is a kind of eye widening. It looks stranger than that though. It looks like she might pass out or something. I do believe it is a tic though.I reread my post, and wanted to clarify what Don's tic of the moment is,
because I realized it sounds like I'm an awfully insensitive mom
otherwise!

Right now Don's got a vocal tic going on, that is typically associated with
him being very excited. He kind of makes a little moan in the back of his
throat. Over and over. All day long. This was the second tic Don
developed, when he started ticcing a couple of years ago. We initially
thought it was a stim, but he's not able to control it no matter how big a
reward is offered, and it actually increases when you pay attention to it,
so
the psych decided it was a tic related to anxiety/excitement. It's the only
one of Don's tics that I find kind of cute. The rest make me sad - they
look
uncomforable. His worst one is an odd, jerky head movement, which he
can't help, but makes his neck sore after awhile

Anyway, as I said, Don's tics are cyclical in response to cyclical stressors.

HTHHere is an article about identifying tic triggers. I don't have any experience with tics, so I can't vouch for the points the article makes, but here's the link. Other parents on this board have found it very helpful in understanding tics:

http://www.latitudes.org/articles/finding_triggers.htm