I started having facial tics at a very young age, somewhere around 4-5 years old. I grew up in an extremely stressful household and have had chronic anxiety for as long as I can remember. Stress, anxiety, and poor sleep always seemed to make my tics worse. Doctors told my parents when I was little that I'd grow out of them, but I never did. They stayed steady through most of my childhood. I remember sitting on a school bus one day in 2nd grade and my eye movement tics were really bad that day. A kid pointed out what I was doing and made fun of me for it. From that point on is when I really remember starting to hide my tics while in public. It became a subconscious thing, and nobody else knew while I was growing up that I had a tic disorder because I hid it so well. It was difficult sometimes but not unbearable by any means. I ended up living a very normal life where the tics were concerned, but other related conditions sprung up over the years that were the harder issues to deal with. I was an unusually bright student growing up, always at the top of my class, getting straight A's. But I started having ADD and OCD symptoms in my teens/early 20's on top of the tics -- and that's when I started really struggling, especially after having excelled academically my whole life... I finally graduated valedictorian in college 
(after years of dropping out and returning because of trouble coping with these issues, but I DID IT!). I often wonder if it was the hormonal changes in puberty that exacerbated everything because I didn't have any learning or concentration issues up until that point that I can recall. And now that I'm pregnant for the first time, everything has kind of worsened for me because of the hormone surges and crazy emotional roller coaster I'm feeling on a grand scale. Everyone in my family always called me "too sensitive!" and overly emotional. It really lowered my self esteem and made me more fearful of people judging me. I have had social phobia and agoraphobia. I saw a neurologist at 23-ish years old just to get a definitive diagnosis for what I already figured was Tourette's. It just helped to give it a name because everyone seemed to downplay it when I was growing up, but I needed validation that something really was going on. I ended up with new tics in my early 20's, although at least one of them I blame on a psychiatric medication. I have been exposed to a lot of medications (which I now deem TOXINS), infections, and allergies in my life -- so likely those reasons on top of chronically being exposed to stress explain why my symptoms have worsened over the years.
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Sure, I'm concerned about my own children having Tourette's since it's hereditary but honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about any child exhibiting tics and having difficulty functioning in the future. I was one of those cases where I adapted and have been able to hide my tics most of the time, and I hear that is common with tic disorders. I also wouldn't worry that the tics are going to severely worsen over time. I would just try to decrease my child's exposure to toxins and stress, is all, just in case by some chance they do have a hand in tic disorders. I truly believe mine only worsened because of the ridiculous excess in environmental exposures I had.
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Awaken, I just want to give you a hug 
and really reassure you that his tics probably aren't as uncomfortable for him as they appear to the outside world. I mean, I don't know how severe his upper body movements are exactly... but honestly, he probably doesn't know any differently. My tics started so young that I didn't know any differently either. My face and hands are sore and exhausted sometimes from the movements, but it's still "normal" to me and doesn't bring me down anymore. The only time I really get upset by this disorder is when another tic springs up and it's something new to deal with. But that has only really happened in response to side effects from medications, like I said. Unfortunately I got a permanent hand tic from Strattera and temporary (thank goodness) neck twitching tics from both Adderall and Flonase. So I've experienced some of the more difficult tics, and honestly the discomfort only arose from the muscle fatigue and social anxiety... but again, totally bearable. Don't be too hard on yourself for anything you think you should've done differently in the past. I'm sure you're a great mother and your son is so lucky to have such an understanding and caring parent!
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I have met a few other people in my early 20's who exhibit tics in public, and nobody ever treats them any differently. They're fully functional. Adults just take notice, are probably curious for a short time, but then move on and don't treat them any differently from what I've seen!
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Okay there is one thing I really want to caution against as a parent, though... Like I said earlier, my family always called me "overly sensitive" and they were hard on me for it. I was briefly made fun of as a child for my tics, and I know to this day that coworkers are likely annoyed by throat clearing sounds and such. But please don't ever tell your children to just stop it.... The reason they're making their movements or sounds is because of the discomfort they'll feel if they DON'T "relieve the sensation" by tic-ing. I really feel it could be damaging to a person's self esteem if they're told to stop something that they can't control... It was damaging to mine. Instead, you could work with your child and encourage different ways to distract them from feeling the urge to tic. There is a lot of information on that out there. I'm sure doctors can direct you to information and therapies as well. I just personally would never tell my kid to just stop it, though.
