I still deal with BFRB and I've had a few instances of old tics resurfacing, but a combination of practice and learning much about my disorders and cognitive science has helped me tremendously with everything else, such as nervous tapping, twitching, repetitive audible excitations, speech impediments and the like. I believe even my BFRB will eventually no longer be a problem. They all subsided at different points in my youth, mostly after conscious effort.

When I was first placed on medication at five, I developed a pretty awful tic wherein I would swallow every five seconds. I was sent to therapy and the therapist first thought I was lying to get attention and then thought I was crazy and needed more medication. This tic was causing gastrointestinal distress, dental issues from lack of saliva, and was a major speech impediment for me. My esophagus would get pretty raw. This was my first experience in learning how to deal with these on my own.

One tic that seemed to go away without extended cognitive effort (on account of its lower frequency) was extended periods where I would laugh uncontrollably over nothing for half an hour or longer until I was red in the face and choking for breath and my diaphragm was convulsing. This lasted for a few years until adolescence. My family thought I wanted attention again and would punish me when I couldn't stop at their command. It's honestly insane how some people respond to behavioral anomalies in their children.

Thanks for your response. My son is 9 and he goes through phases of having some sort of tic (throat clearing, head shaking, blinking, etc). They're not too bad, relatively speaking, and no one has really noticed. Or if they do then they probably dismiss it.

His pediatrician said it's likely a mild form of tic and tourette syndrome which often goes away by age 13. We haven't brought it up to him besides once or twice asking if he feels any discomfort. We haven't talked to him about stopping the tics and don't plan to. I hope his classmates continue to ignore it and that they remain mild.

Sorry your experience was not supportive and I hope BFRB does, in fact, go away for you.

I would say that habits are everything, and in some cases, I believe even extreme disorders like schizophrenia can sometimes be caused by bad neurocognitive habits degenerating unchecked.

You're doing the right thing by not making a big deal out of it or making them feel different, but as your son gets older and more able to have these kinds of conversations, it's worth opening a dialogue with them about finding ways to form new habits that break the old ones.

Many of my tics only went away after much effort, and growing up I felt like I had no one to talk to about them. My family didn't understand and I didn't have good experiences opening up to other children about them because they also either thought it was an attention thing or that something was really wrong with me.

At some point your son is going to become stressed by his seeming inability to control his own body and he will want to have positive dialogue about it. He may not have the courage to initiate the conversation though or he may be worried you won't understand. I wouldn't approach it with a bag of tricks but rather learn together with your son and encourage them to pursue better habits when apt. I know for me, accepting my disorders as purely physical and maintaining the belief that I could overcome them mentally was instrumental in my healing.

Good luck! I'm sure one way or another he'll figure it out as long as he is surrounded by positivity.