Taking Multi-Vitamins

Autism Community Connection=

Autismcc Yahoo Group Responds!

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Topic: Biting - Chewing Options for Oral = Children

One of our parents asked for help on biting and items that are okay to chew.

“My son is very oral and likes to bite things.= He also likes to bite when he gets mad. I want to make a social story on w= hat is okay and not okay to bite. Ot= her than apples and special ‘chewies,’ I can’t really come up with anything that is okay to bite. And chewies are not always handy.”

Marie suggested,

How about rice cakes or licorice? These are chewy items.

Karen replied,

My son is going through the same thing. We are working with him by saying “Are you mad?” and modeling “I am mad.” They are doing that at school and = it is starting to work. Even if he = tries to bite first, he’ll then catch himself and say, “I am mad.” Then we praise hi= m.

Angelia responded,

Check out the website www.pfot.com and click = on the oral motors link in the left hand menu.&nb= sp; As for the chewies, they can be strung around the neck as they are readily available. Other kids= in my son’s class have these hanging around their neck.

Becky said,

Other appropriate foods that might help are pretzel rods, licorice and fruit roll ups. Towels, blankets, etc. c= an also offer some proprioceptive iput to the jaw. The Oral Motor Grocery List from t= he MORE book is an excellent resource for oral sens= ory needs.

Ellen reminded,

I would caution against the sugary, sticky foods. You may temporarily solve the biti= ng problem and end up with cavities. Our kids can get “stuck” on foods, so I would avoid using food unless it’s a really healthy food to solve behavior problems.

Dee replied,

I get the bag of thin flexible straws at the dollar store. I carry one in the car when we run errands or when visiting friends. They are portable and disposable.&n= bsp; My older son loves juicy fruit gum that he will methodically eat in = four section bites.

Jennifer cautioned,

My daughter liked to chew on straws. Now she does not drink out of a straw at all so I wish I hadn’t given her them to chew on. Sh= e is almost three—I would assume an older child would be fine with doing t= his.

Julie mentioned,

I worked with a boy that would twist up his t-shirt and chew on it. His mother attached a stretchy cor= d to his belt loop each day. It wa= s a type of key chain that looked like a telephone cord. He replaced his shirt chewing with pulling on the stretchy cord.

www.pfot.com and www.therapyshoppe.com are inexpen= sive places to get chewy objects. I’ve seen portions of plastic tubing strung on a string and ma= de into a necklace for chewing purposes. I’ve also seen the plastic tubing put on the end of pencils or pens to be used for chewing in the classroom.

Cathy said,

The oral sensory needs can be normal for typical 2 year olds. Beyond that, it is more of a senso= ry integration and anxiety issue. We were suggested to get a blood test done for a chemical imbalance. A deficiency in zinc apparently ca= uses what is known as “pica,” the desire to eat non-food items. We started our child on zinc suppl= ements and hope to see more positive results.&nbs= p; Also be careful of lead in lots of plastic toys not meant to be put = in mouths.

Dawn replied,

My child went through a phase where she carried a toothbrush wherever she went= and loved to chew on it. She enjo= yed the feeling of the bristles. = If people asked, we would just say she liked clean teeth.