Re: pica drywall

[Guest guest]

I think that Sara's Mikey may have gone through this or something like it.

She would have answered by now if that were so, but she is probably sound

asleep, standing up, somewhere in her home!

Hopefully, she will get a partially full nights sleep for Christmas!

, Columbus, OH

Mom to

, 15, possible bipolar

Annie, 12, so far so good

JD, 8, severe ADHD, Autism, and my reason for getting out of bed each morning!

[Guest guest]

Eating drywall? That's a new one. went thru

phases where he ate paper, cardboard, plastic bags,

and chewed on his own clothes. My MIL suggested that

maybe his teeth were bothering him and said to give

him something hard (and safe) to chew on. Pretzles

and crackers seemed to work.

Tuna

--- JRae32566@... wrote:

ahhhh Steele is eating dry wall & nbsp; anyone had this problem????jen

=====

______________________________________________________

Send your holiday cheer with http://greetings.yahoo.ca

[Guest guest]

Jen,

Apparently, it's quite common.

As stated, Sara had this problem with her son, Mikey. How old is Steele?

If I recall correctly, the OT really helped with this problem.

I don't know how much the meds did for this specific problem, but he was also

put on medication at about the same time.

Is Steele getting any OT? Is he actually EATING it or biting into the drywall?

(I had the latter problem - Sara had the first one.)

Grace

pica drywall

ahhhh Steele is eating dry wall anyone had this problem????jen

[Guest guest]

> ahhhh Steele is eating dry wall anyone had this problem????jen

Yes, Mikey did this. It was horrible. OT made it stop. Does Steele get

OT? If so talk to his therapist ASAP. If not I have some suggestions below

which may or may not be helpful.

In Mikey's case I now think he was actually seeking deep

pressure/proprioception because he was digging into the wall with his

fingernails and then eating the drywall out of his nails. I think he was

after the pressure to his fingers and the eating was just his way of

cleaning out his nails. (Keeping them trimmed didn't really help, but it

did reduce the amount of drywall he ingested.) If Steele is doing this,

here is something to help satisfy that need: pull on his fingers. At first

he may just let you do a quick tug, but eventually you're working toward a

full " finger massage. " Start at the joint closest to the palm and

squeeze/rub/pull all the way down to the end of the finger. Do this to each

finger & thumb on both hands.

Playing in sand, dry beans, rice, etc. may also help. For Mikey I use dry

rolled oats to simulate sand, because he eats the other things. It's OK if

he eats the oats. This is really helpful for Mikey. If Steele is after the

oral stimulation the oats may help him as well.

If he is actually biting into the walls or chewing on the corners, try to

substitute things for him to chew/bite/eat, in addition to OT. He may be

seeking oral proprioception; both oral OT and general OT will help calm this

need. Try chewy foods - gummy bears? teething biscuits? jerky? Also try

strongly flavored foods, especially salty foods. Salted cucumbers were once

a favorite of Mikey's. The salt gives them nice flavor and they have a good

texture.

Try to get him to carry heavy things. As heavy as he can manage. He may be

a lot stronger than you think! This also gives good proprioceptive input.

Jumping is another good one. Go jump on the bed with him. Swing him over

the bed and drop him onto it, push him down while he's jumping, etc. Lots

of impact. Of course be careful not to hurt him, and if he's scared or

fighting it don't force it.

Pica is sometimes a symptom of a physical problem. You might have his iron,

lead, and zinc levels checked. This will require a blood draw. Ask for the

numbing cream, I believe called EMLA? If they do a vein draw (elbow) ask

for a butterfly needle. Also make certain he's getting enough calcium. A

blood test won't show low calcium levels until it's quite serious so

supplementing his diet is the best way to go here.

If you need more OT ideas I'd be happy to help if I can.

Good luck!

-Sara.

[Guest guest]

Nope -

Jacqui prefers plastic (of all types) - chews, does not eat.

Since it's cold here now, she has also begun to chew on the sleeves

of her sweatshirts.

Good luck with this one....

Penny :-)

[Guest guest]

hi, It is more like the ceiling popcorn..I know you want to know how he gets

up there....well we dismantled his bunk bed but now he just finds ways like

climbing in bathroom counter to get at the ceiling...Steele is almost 7..He

has liked wood, playdoh and sand in the past..No the OT freaked when she sayw

the bunkbed posts and the window panes all chewed up// Help Jen

[Guest guest]

Penny~

Same here with Sydney.

Plastic mostly, and sometimes, she will gnaw on wood, i.e. blocks. I am living

to regret the day I opened the block set that I had kept in the garage for

years. I should have left it there until age 30. <them, not me...>

And Syd chews on the collar of her shirt, not her sleeve. Same difference.

Does it bother you? It really bothers me. It's so LOUDLY autistic.

Grace

Re: pica drywall

Nope -

Jacqui prefers plastic (of all types) - chews, does not eat.

Since it's cold here now, she has also begun to chew on the sleeves

of her sweatshirts.

Good luck with this one....

Penny :-)