Craniosacral therapy for physical and vocal tics
My son Luca is 8 years old, and since the age of 3 has had various twitches or movements within his body, such as repetitive eye blinking, open and closing his mouth, head and neck jerking and various other movements. The movements would come for a period of time and then change to another one, which initially I put down to being habits which he would grow out of.
The movements were never too noticeable until he reached the age of 6 and the neck jerking became very regular and noticeable, and by the age of 7 he has started to have vocal tics (shouting out the word yes) this became quite severe last year and I contacted my GP for medical assistance. We were referred to a Neurologist who advised that Luca had vocal tics which was a form of Tourette’s and we were put on a waitlist for an appointment with CAHMs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) for advice on how to manage the situation.
The appointment was 3 months away and the vocal tics was becoming quite regular, the school were involved and we were trying to put procedures in place as to ensure it would not have an impact on Luca at school. I was really quite worried, as Luca was such a confident boy and I didn’t want the situation to have a negative impact on him.
As things were not improving for Luca, I decided to look at alternatives therapies. I had experienced cranial therapy myself during the last stage of my pregnancy with Luca, as I had SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction) and was experiencing severe pain which had a big effect on my mobility, the therapy was the only thing that got me through the last stages of the pregnancy and assisted with the pain. I couldn’t believe the change during those last few weeks.
I contacted Charlotte to ask if she offered CST treatment to children, and after an initial chat I booked Luca in for his first session. This first session was really quite amazing, Charlotte explained to Luca what she was going to do, and that she would work out how his body was feeling and where it needed assistance, Luca seemed so receptive to the treatment, and the treatment seemed so gentle, and safe, it seemed that light pressure was applied to various parts of Lucas body which just seemed to assist the body in releasing any stresses and tensions.
Luca seemed totally comfortable with the experience, and his body would move in various ways, as if it was pushing and stretching to release tension. I was so surprised at how his body reacted to the treatment and how he seemed to really enjoy it and not feel phased at all by it.
After the first visit to Charlotte, within a few days we noticed a huge improvement, the jerking of the neck reduced significantly as did the vocal tics, I was completely surprised how it had such an impact on him so soon. We had probably around another 5 sessions with Charlotte and by then the head jerking had stopped completely and the vocal tics were hardly happening.
After a period of 6 months the vocal tics came back and were quite severe, to the stage where Luca was also becoming quite worried about them himself. After one session with Charlotte they reduced significantly and a week later had disappeared again.
We now manage the situation, where as if Luca feels he needs to visit Charlotte he just lets me know and we pay a visit. I really enjoy taking Luca to his sessions as I know the positive impact is has on his body, and although he is always asking “how long he has left”, I know he secretly enjoys it!
The treatment has had a huge impact on Luca and his health and moving forward this is the way we will manage the situation if things reappear.
Charlotte is such a professional, and makes Luca and myself feel such at ease and explains in a way he understands as to what is happening to his body and the reasons she is working on various areas, and why certain parts of his body move throughout the treatment.
I can honestly say that I do not know what the situation would be now like for Luca if we had not taken this route, I only hope other families become aware of how this treatment can assist them too.