DS is repetitive stepping, tic? OCD? sometimes his leg doesn't work.

[meg-momto2]

DS started this odd foot step thing a few weeks ago. it was really bad when we were out in public because he need to tap his toes every time he started walking. when he's not walking he's making small steps with each foot, a back an forth motion. when we ask him about it he says when he stops on one foot it wins and when he stops on the other foot that one wins. sounds like some sort of game. he doesn't do anything when his sitting as far as i can tell. he's also said his leg stopped working and had to drag it when he walks. do you think it's related? does that sound more like a tic or an OCD tendencies?

[sbgrace]

Assuming it's not just a quirky kid pretending (could be) the win part sounds more OCD like to me. That said, I would expect anxiety associated with it for OCD (OCD isn't pleasant feeling) and the way you wrote it sounds like fun to him? Is that the impression you get--that he's pretending and enjoying himself or that he's compulsive about this and would have a lot of anxiety if he didn't do it? Have you seen anything in him prior to this that made you think tic or OCD?

[meg-momto2]

thanks for the response. i should have added some history to my post. DS has had a few noticeable tics for years. eye blinking and spitting as a toddler, throat clearing and touching his privates in the last year or so. they usually last just a few months before fading off. he's also got some anxiety and SPD type behaviors. his school evaluation showed he's got a very high IQ but no signs of disorders. our private psychologist couldn't really do much else for us since the school covered all the testing he would have used.

we also recently found out he's gluten intolerant. this most recent tic/OCD thing started after going off gluten. while over all he's a lot calmer and happier off gluten his behavior has also become more twitchy and odd. maybe this is just an adjustment phase. his behavior isn't really a problem at the moment. i'm just not sure what to make of it.