oral sensory stuff

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-2003
oral sensory stuff
9
Wed, 05-10-2006 - 6:58pm

As long as I've broken my "lurker" cycle I figured it would be a good time to ask how you guys handle mouthing? My daughter will be 4 this summer and her oral stuff is getting worse rather than better. For a long time it was just sucking her thumb or chewing on her clothes. Now the child will try to stuff her whole hand in her mouth, suck on her arms, and lick everything she sees. She tried to lick the potty seat today, and often I have to stop her from licking the counters in restaurants. I know the kids at school are teasing her about it (which really helps) and I'm not sure what to do.

TIA
Mary

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Registered: 04-11-2003
Thu, 05-11-2006 - 10:51am

My son was not typically a mouther. The only time we saw it was the day after starting him on enzymes. He started chewing on his fingers, straws, pencils, sleve. I'd read that could indicate a zinc deficiency so I gave him 50mg of zinc. It was the evening. The next mornig he was back to his old self.

You may also want to look into occupational therapy.

HTH,
Samantha

Samantha
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Thu, 05-11-2006 - 11:09am

Yes, OT will help. My DD (also 4 y.o.) is a huge seeker of oral-sensory input. One day a few weeks ago, while we were playing outside, she picked up a handful of dirt and ate it. She also will lick sidewalk chalk, paintbrushes when we are painting, her own arm when it is wet, soap, pretty much anything. She will also sometimes "pouch" food in her cheeks while eating.

Her OT has started doing things that will give her appropriate oral-sensory input in an effort to decrease her seeking it in inappropriate ways. Before snacktime at school, the OT uses a toothbrush to brush her tongue, lips, and the insides of her cheeks; that seems to help her not to "pouch" food. I try to give her lots of crunchy things to eat (toasted bagels, pizza crusts, granola, apples, etc.) to work her mouth and give her lots of sensory input that way. You can also make a "chewy" necklace out of aquarium tubing; cut it into sections and string it onto some dental floss or string. Anything like that that will give the child something appropriate to put in their mouths.

Does your DD receive OT? If so, I'd bring up these issues with the OT and see if he/she has any other suggestions...

HTH!

Jennifer :)

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Registered: 01-19-2005
Thu, 05-11-2006 - 4:32pm

Hi Mary,

Eric also was not too oral as a little guy, didn't even want a pacifier. Now he grinds his teeth, makes noises with his mouth at times etc. When I can pay attention to it, I try to give him some acceptable substitute, like a straw to suck. He doesn't like gum, but that might work for you. Crunchy foods. An electric toothbrush helped Eric. Anything to give them the sucking or chewing need.

Katherine

Avatar for insideout418
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Fri, 05-12-2006 - 1:17am

I don't have any advice, but I wanted to thank you for posting this, cause this thread has really helped me gain some insight!


My son has been mouthing things (toys) lately, and he hardly ever did that as a baby.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-2003
Fri, 05-12-2006 - 12:26pm

THANKS All! We will probably start OT this summer. We're still waiting for our final Autism screening at the University so that we're all on the same page (DH, me and the docs) so that no one feels that there opinion wasn't considered. Right now she's in a great preschool that has extremely skilled teachers. Although she gets no official therapies at the moment the staff has really stepped up to help her with lot's of social things. She may not be able to continue next year though because they have a strict "totally potty trained" condition for admition to pre-k and we aren't there yet. But if that doesn't work out we'll have other options by then. Right now I'm just dealing with problems as the crop up and the mouthing is one that's really starting to worsen.

Mary

Avatar for insideout418
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Registered: 03-25-2003
Sat, 05-13-2006 - 10:54pm

Mary,


I talked to my son's SE teacher yesterday about this.

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Registered: 07-24-2003
Sun, 05-14-2006 - 11:11am

Oh good! What a happy coincidence! I'm glad you've got everyone on the same page and can get some immediate help! Let me know how OT goes. I'm curious about how it helps and what they do.

Mary

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Registered: 10-03-2004
Sun, 05-14-2006 - 12:55pm

I always know how high Malcolm's anxiety is and therefore how out of body he is on a sensory level by the amount of chewing on his shirt collars. When things are calm and in control in Malcolm-land, no chewing. None, shirt collars and sleeves out of danger. Unhappy, stressed, tense - dripping wet and as much of his shirt as he can get into his mouth!

We use gum, lots of sugarless gum. Crunchy food, heavy work, massage, joint compression, even lollipops ... and if it's not bothering anything and just necessary, chew on his shirt collar if nothing else is helping. In the long run of life, what's a shirt?

Sara
ilovemalcolm

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Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 05-15-2006 - 2:56pm

My son Vaughn sounds like Malcolm.....anxiety = chewing

Chewing was at an all time high in first grade. He chewed on everything....pencils, crayons, markers, glue sticks, glue bottles, scissors, erasers - anything. I was replacing his supplies on almost a weekly basis. Oddly enough, he did not chew on much at home. The year before we had a real problem with him chewing on his trains (if they were made of plastic).

His 1st grade teacher was the first to notice a direct correlation between stress and chewing. He had a drastic decrease in meltdowns/outburst during 1st grade but a dramatic increase in chewing.

I consulted with his pediatrician and had him tested for lead poisoning/pica - that came back negative. We decided that chewing must be his stress reliever/coping mechanism. He is allowed to chew sugarless gum at school - I also send a supply of crunchy/chewy foods (raisins, peanuts, sunflower seeds, apples). I made him a chewing necklace out of non-toxic plastic tubing with a string throught it but he destroyed those in record time. We were afraid he would swallow the small pieces so I don't do that anymore.

Anyway, we have noticed a decrease in chewing again.....he has several sensory breaks throughout the day, he has his crunchy/chewy snacks, he has several modifications done during the day to help relieve some of the stress.....things have been better at school lately.

Christie