A tic is an uncontrolled sudden, repetitive movement or sound that can be difficult to control. It’s a condition that affects many people before the age of 18. Tics that involve movements are called motor tics while tics involving sounds are called vocal tics.

The type of tics a person has may change over time. How often tics happen also may change. Tics often come and go and can get worse when a person is stressed or anxious. Sometimes a person will have one kind of tic — like a shoulder shrug — that lasts for a while and then goes away. But then he or she may develop another type of tic, such as a nose twitch. It’s perfectly normal to worry that a tic may never go away. However, in most cases, tics are temporary.

The amount and type of stimming varies a lot from individual to individual. For example, a child may just have mild hand mannerisms, whereas another may spend a lot of time stimming.

Take a look at our helpful special needs infographic to better understand this condition, you can download it here.

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