I generally follow Andy Cutler's supplement recomendations. For zinc he suggests body weight plus 20mg divided into 4 doses a day. So if you wiegh 80lbs you'd take 100mg (80 +20mg = 100mg) divided by 4 doses or 25mg 4Xday. I always start with a very low dose and gradually increase to make sure my kids tolerate the supplement. And with zinc you do need to pay attention to zinc/copper ratio. So your child may tollerate zinc untill they are "zinc loaded" at which point more zinc may lower copper too much and cause problems. For my kids when they were zinc loaded and I continued to give zinc they became grouchy. I removed the zinc and their behavior returned to normal. I just give zinc periodically now when I feel they need it. I acutally think they both could use some zinc now because they've both started chewing gum constantly. Gum is better than chewing clothes but its still excessive. Food sources of zinc: Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food, but red meat and poultry provide the majority of zinc in the American diet. Other good food sources include beans, nuts, certain seafood, whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, and dairy products (2,9). Zinc absorption is greater from a diet high in animal protein than a diet rich in plant proteins (2). Phytates, which are found in whole grain breads, cereals, legumes and other products, can decrease zinc absorption.
My 3 (almost 4) year old daughter does this all the time. At school on of the teachers always gently pulls her hand away and says "We're not goats". So, now she'll chew on her shirt for a few minutes and when she notices she's doing it she starts saying "we're not goats" over and over until I say something like "No! We aren't goats!" and then we both laugh really loud. Then she moves on.
Does anyone know where I can get zinc sup that doesn't have sugar in it? My DD with the oral stims is also diabetic and every zinc sup I've found is heavy in sugars too.
We have ordered lots of stuff for my son out of the Abilities magazine. I think you can access it at www.abilitations.com . If not, let me know and I will check with the therapists. I get lots of sensory magazines etc, and have seen necklaces and bracelets in them that are just for the chewing problems. I'm not sure of the prices since ds doesn't have this issue, but at least they might give you some ideas.
Wow! Guess this is a common thing! Sylvia is a MAJOR oral sensory-seeker. She doesn't usually chew on her shirts, but she chews on her hair, licks her arms and her hands, puts everything in her mouth, and lately she's started doing things like eating handfuls of sand from her sandbox, eating handfuls of birdseed when we're filling the birdfeeder, etc. I haven't ruled out a nutrient deficiency, but I'd like to check with her ped before I start to supplement. In the meantime, I ordered a bunch of oral sensory things from this site:
www dot pfot dot com. (pfot stands for "Pocket full of therapy".)
It's a GREAT site, and has things for every kind of sensory need. Our OT recommended it. I recently purchased something called a "z-vibe" -- a little stick with a chew tip that vibrates at a low frequency that you can use on its own, or put a pencil tip on one end so that you can have it with you in school. It hasn't arrived yet (should later this week) so I don't know yet how well it will work, but the idea is that it gives the child the oral-sensory stuff they're craving, and then they won't seek it in inappropriate ways. I also ordered some of the chewy things for her, although Sylvie isn't so much into chewing as she is licking and eating. I'm hoping it works; I can't tell you how gross it can be when she literally puts dirt in her mouth!!!
Oooohhhhh.....some great ideas.....I'll check that out.....Thanks! When my guy turned 3 - we nicknamed him Vaughn the Destroyer because he chewed and destroyed everything. He got really bad in school - especially kindergarten and 1st grade......also, we had no clue as to his aspergers at that time.....never heard of sensory issues. We made him a chew necklace in first grade - completely destroyed it in a matter of minutes.....tried more durable material.....no luck - plus he hated wearing it. We had him tested for lead poisoning/pika.....came back negative. His teacher finally made the connection between is decrease in meltdowns and his increase in chewing.......stress-related. From that point on, he was allowed to chew sugarless gum at school......still does to this day. There was a point in time where I had to replace his school supplies on a weekly basis.....he chewed through all of it....crayons, pencils, markers, glue bottles, glue sticks, scissors, erasers, etc. Shirts.....I have absolutely no size 4 to 6 shirts.....all the collars and sleeves were gnawed at. He does not chew on stuff at home anymore......still does at school but does well with reminders and gum.
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I generally follow Andy Cutler's supplement recomendations. For zinc he suggests body weight plus 20mg divided into 4 doses a day. So if you wiegh 80lbs you'd take 100mg (80 +20mg = 100mg) divided by 4 doses or 25mg 4Xday. I always start with a very low dose and gradually increase to make sure my kids tolerate the supplement. And with zinc you do need to pay attention to zinc/copper ratio. So your child may tollerate zinc untill they are "zinc loaded" at which point more zinc may lower copper too much and cause problems. For my kids when they were zinc loaded and I continued to give zinc they became grouchy. I removed the zinc and their behavior returned to normal. I just give zinc periodically now when I feel they need it. I acutally think they both could use some zinc now because they've both started chewing gum constantly. Gum is better than chewing clothes but its still excessive. Food sources of zinc: Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food, but red meat and poultry provide the majority of zinc in the American diet. Other good food sources include beans, nuts, certain seafood, whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, and dairy products (2,9). Zinc absorption is greater from a diet high in animal protein than a diet rich in plant proteins (2). Phytates, which are found in whole grain breads, cereals, legumes and other products, can decrease zinc absorption.
HTH,
Samantha
Thanks, Samantha!
Really good information!
Katherine
My 3 (almost 4) year old daughter does this all the time. At school on of the teachers always gently pulls her hand away and says "We're not goats". So, now she'll chew on her shirt for a few minutes and when she notices she's doing it she starts saying "we're not goats" over and over until I say something like "No! We aren't goats!" and then we both laugh really loud. Then she moves on.
Mary
The metagenics zinc drink just says zinc sulfate in a base of deionized water.
-S
Hi ladies! I'm Michelle and new to this board.
We have ordered lots of stuff for my son out of the Abilities magazine. I think you can access it at www.abilitations.com . If not, let me know and I will check with the therapists. I get lots of sensory magazines etc, and have seen necklaces and bracelets in them that are just for the chewing problems. I'm not sure of the prices since ds doesn't have this issue, but at least they might give you some ideas.
Michelle
Edited 6/19/2006 8:22 am ET by momofmat-n-mav
Wow! Guess this is a common thing! Sylvia is a MAJOR oral sensory-seeker. She doesn't usually chew on her shirts, but she chews on her hair, licks her arms and her hands, puts everything in her mouth, and lately she's started doing things like eating handfuls of sand from her sandbox, eating handfuls of birdseed when we're filling the birdfeeder, etc. I haven't ruled out a nutrient deficiency, but I'd like to check with her ped before I start to supplement. In the meantime, I ordered a bunch of oral sensory things from this site:
www dot pfot dot com. (pfot stands for "Pocket full of therapy".)
It's a GREAT site, and has things for every kind of sensory need. Our OT recommended it. I recently purchased something called a "z-vibe" -- a little stick with a chew tip that vibrates at a low frequency that you can use on its own, or put a pencil tip on one end so that you can have it with you in school. It hasn't arrived yet (should later this week) so I don't know yet how well it will work, but the idea is that it gives the child the oral-sensory stuff they're craving, and then they won't seek it in inappropriate ways. I also ordered some of the chewy things for her, although Sylvie isn't so much into chewing as she is licking and eating. I'm hoping it works; I can't tell you how gross it can be when she literally puts dirt in her mouth!!!
Jennifer
Oooohhhhh.....some great ideas.....I'll check that out.....Thanks! When my guy turned 3 - we nicknamed him Vaughn the Destroyer because he chewed and destroyed everything. He got really bad in school - especially kindergarten and 1st grade......also, we had no clue as to his aspergers at that time.....never heard of sensory issues. We made him a chew necklace in first grade - completely destroyed it in a matter of minutes.....tried more durable material.....no luck - plus he hated wearing it. We had him tested for lead poisoning/pika.....came back negative. His teacher finally made the connection between is decrease in meltdowns and his increase in chewing.......stress-related. From that point on, he was allowed to chew sugarless gum at school......still does to this day. There was a point in time where I had to replace his school supplies on a weekly basis.....he chewed through all of it....crayons, pencils, markers, glue bottles, glue sticks, scissors, erasers, etc. Shirts.....I have absolutely no size 4 to 6 shirts.....all the collars and sleeves were gnawed at. He does not chew on stuff at home anymore......still does at school but does well with reminders and gum.
Christie
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