Stuttering and vocal tic while on stimulant medication

[Anonymous]

My child developed a vocal tic and stuttering after being on stimulant medication for only 2 months. Anyone else's child experience similar side effects?

[Anonymous]

Yes my DS had horrible stuttering after being on Concerta for maybe 2 months. We took him off when the stuttering started, it kept worsening for a few weeks, then slowly resolved over months. We have not gone back to stimulants--the stuttering was way, way worse then the ADHD. There is a family history of stuttering, so from my understanding these sorts of things can be "awakened" by certain types of medication.

[Anonymous]

Stuttering is caused by neurological issues between the areas of the brain that process language and those that control motor movements, and it is not unheard of for trauma or medications to temporarily cause disruptions in these pathways. However, the way people stutter when it is their natural wiring versus brought on by an external cause often differs. It's very interesting from the research end, but as the pp pointed out, generally not worth it for the person taking the medication. I hope your dc is doing better and might benefit from a different type of medication.

[Anonymous]

My oldest developed a facial and vocal tic a couple of months after starting a stimulant medication. After ceasing the medication, it dwindled and then was gone. It reappered briefly when he was under tremendous stress. About a year after that, it came back and has been present for about 4 years. The more he's stressed, the worse it is. It wasn't until he was in 7th grade that it bothered him and he started supressing it. We wrote into his IEP that he could go to the counselor's office if he needed to express it. But, so far, he's held it in. As he was going through puberty, it would wax/wane. He's now 16 and it's been waning for a while. His psychiatrist (who he sees for medication management) believes he'll outgrow it. He's not been on a stimulant medication since the first time. He takes a non-stimulant for his ADHD which (supposedly) ameliorates tics be never noticed it having an impact.