What to do about hand in mouth?
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What to do about hand in mouth?
| Fri, 10-28-2005 - 2:17pm |
Hi Everyone,
Does anyone else have a child who puts his/her hand in his mouth and likes to lick all sorts of things?

Dear Pam,
When a sensory-seeking kid needs oral stimulation, there is no amount of "no" that will make a difference in my experience without something else to fill the need. Our boy will chew on his shirt sleeves and neck during high anxiety attacks. Every time I ask him to stop, he starts back up a few minutes later. Gum helps for our boy. His last school didn't like using it in classroom, used to give him sugarless hard candy which cracked his 2 fillings, thanks alot, meaning we had to go back in for dentist and fullbody restraint...
There are chew toys made for sensory kids that he might like. But I find the happier the child and lower the anxiety, the less chewing. Right now all is well in Malcolm land and there is nary a wet sleeve or a stick of gum in sight. And when they crop back up, I know something's bothering him. Any transition period, such as first couple weeks of school, etc. I know the sleeves are going to be dripping!!!
Good luck. Wash his hands often, then chewing on them won't bother you quite so much and he'll learn to wash hands.
yours,
Sara
ilovemalcolm
We used chew toys for a long time.
Pam,
Actually, Nathan had this problem too. He doesn't do it anymore, thank goodness....I was really concerned about the germs too!!!
The gals on this board suggested giving him something to chew on, or something that he could put in his mouth. Something to do with oral stimulation. I have straws in the house, so I decided to try that. It worked for Nathan. Just something to chew on, something to put in his mouth. I had the ones that are bendable...so he enjoyed having something to fiddle with too. Everytime I saw him with his hands going to his mouth, I would tell him to go get his straw. He now asks for gum to chew too. So I usually give him gum when he asks. He never really chews it for very long, it's just something that he needs at the time.
Maybe the other moms will have some other suggestions too. HTH!!
Michelle
we have the same issue here, except matt seeks out his paci still. we have tried chewies and oral vibration stuff with little help. i find the best thing is to find a snack that he really has to work on, or something with a strong flavor to fulfill the input. we do lots of apple slices, crunchy pickles, fruit snacks. something that he has to work at for awhile. we tried gum in a piece of gauze--that way i could hold onto it. occasional skittles or gummy bears are good. drinking a thick liquid through a straw is great too. OT's should be full of these types of examples.
valerie
No suggestions, but let me tell you about my last couple of days....
We've all been sick around here with a nasty stomache bug. Fevers, vomiting, ect., all around. My child (3) licks everything she can and since she just started preschool I was having bizarre fantasies about what she must have put in her mouth to give us all this lovely gift. Then Friday there was a bad accident with medicine (another story) and we were at the ER all day while she was under "observation". DH and I heartily encouraged her to lay on the bed and watch Disney movies on the VCR all day. 10 minutes before we are to be released (all monitors removed, just putting on shoes) she kneels on the floor and licks it! Shockingly she's now throwing up again. I cannot believe she licked the floor of a hospital ER in the middle of a major outbreak of a stomache virus. Everyone else there that day was getting IV fluids for dehydration from the virus. I'm not sure there is enough anti-bacterial soap in the country to save us from every cold that comes along this year.
So, I can give you lots of sympathy, but no advice.
Mary