Being blessed with a child with Asperger's and Chronic Tic Disorder...

Hunter started having facial tics when he was about 3. I didn't think anything about them. He had eye squinting and also a facial grimace. It wasn't until years later I realized it was here to stay.

He has always been quirky. When he was little he would line up his cars with the wheels lined up precisely and wouldn't feel comfortable until he did so. He always had one thing he would know everything about and talk about it constantly. At 2, he knew his alphabet and could recognize the letters. At 4, he learned to read. At 5, he taught himself Math using the Hungry Hippo game marbles. He would put some in one pile and put some others in another pile and then add them up. So at 5, we started homeschooling him. (have ever since) He has done wonderful! One exception has been Math this year. He struggles with visualizing how to do a problem. So long division was a little hard for him. We are continuing that through the summer.

He was diagnosed with Asperger's last year, I believe. He has some difficulties socially. He doesn't reciprocate a conversation or usually start one. He doesn't look most people in the eye. The conversation can be one sided and he cannot "read" people's faces very well. He also doesn't understand figures of speech all the time. BUT, he is fully aware of his Asperger's and has decided to overcome it as much as possible. He tries not to overpower a conversation with the subject he is interested in, but tries to listen to the other person. He asks what the meaning of the figures of speech are, etc. We work with him to help him understand life around him. He does very well.


He is very technology oriented. He LOVES his ipod touch. He is fascinated with it and could spend the whole day looking at it. Of course he is limited on it, but it has been very educational for him. He has a lot of apps on there that are full of facts, need fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, etc. He's known how to run a computer since he was 2 or 3. He is very intelligent. :) Technology is his niche. He loves it.


He also has Chronic Tic Disorder. This sometimes comes along with Asperger's. He has several tics such as head jerk, full body tics, leg tics, etc. They annoy him at times, but he has learned to live with them. In fact, there have been several people he looks up to that he has noticed has tics also. He is not alone. :) He will have tics the rest of his life.

We manage both his Asperger's and tics with natural remedies. He nor we want him to be on prescription medication due to side effects, etc. He takes True Calm and Calcium and Magnesium. True calm has GABA, Inositol, and Taurine, which are amino acids that help calm the nervous system. Calcium and Magnesium are natural neurosystem calmers. This helps lessen his tics. They are still there, but they are manageable and easy to live with. This is the best combination we have tried. Some things we tried, made his tics worse. It's trial and error. :)
We are so blessed to be parents of this 11 yr old young man. He has been such a delight! He is so sweet and has the biggest heart I know. He has a burden for kids that are "different." He loves animals! He is so smart and loves to talk. :) He also cares for the environment. He learns a lot that we don't always catch and he's quick to tell us when we are not doing our part to be "green." lol. He is very well behaved and minds his authorities. (although his chatter can sometimes get him in hot water during youth church lol) Our hearts burst with love for him and we are just honored that the Lord has allowed us to raise such a blessing as this!