Re: I have a brand-new problem!

[Guest guest]

Alec puts everything in his mouth. But I for some reason have no fear

at all about choking. Alec has absolutely no gag reflex either. Does

gag easily or no? We let Alec have a binky which " plugs the

hole " and so he doesnt put everything in his mouth but he licks to

taste and lick everything. Even a fence and I was sure he would wind

up with splinters in his tounge!

Jacquie H

>

> This is old hat to some of you, but it's brand new around here, so

I need some pointers!

>

> has begun putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. Not to chew, or to

eat, to just to hold there. Marbles, film, plastic glow-in-the-dark

stars, just to name this morning's menu...

>

> What is this?

>

> Can I discourage it? I'm afraid to death of him choking!

>

> Jacquie

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jacquie,

I wish I had answers for you on this one. We dealt with the holding in the

mouth when was about 3, now it's the chewing but not eating. All I

can say is it must be sensory again. You could try something around his

neck that he could pick up and put in his mouth. (you know, something

hanging down from a string). I tried this with teething beads for .

This way it was attached and he couldn't swallow it.

Sorry I can't be of more help!

Sue

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[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

!

" plugs the

> hole " and so he doesnt put everything in his mouth but he licks to

> taste and lick everything. Even a fence and I was sure he would wind

> up with splinters in his tounge!

> Jacquie H

licked our metal fence on a very cold winter day last year. Poor

little tounge, he ripped off his little taste buds, just before the bus

came! Then last week, he got it stuck to an ice cube, ouch again!

Sue

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[Guest guest]

" licked our metal fence on a very cold winter day last year.

Poor little tounge, he ripped off his little taste buds, just before

the bus came! Then last week, he got it stuck to an ice cube, ouch

again! "

Ouch is right! I do this with icecubes too. LOL I love ice!

Jacquie H

[Guest guest]

>>Can I discourage it? I'm afraid to death of him choking!

Here is what our psych would say:

To extinguish an undesireable behavior, every time you see that behavior,

you have the child do something which is incompatible with the behavior.

In this case, he is putting things in his mouth. What's incompatible with

having something in your mouth?

Spitting

Eating

Talking/screaming/singing

Brushing teeth

Blowing bubbles (with soap solution, or through a straw into water in a cup)

That's all I can think of right now but you get the idea. I'll pick talking

because I think it's the easiest. Every time you see him with something in

his mouth, start up a conversation. Pick something really interesting that

you know he will want to talk about. Then when he talks, you can't

understand him because he's got something in his mouth. He'll have to spit

it out for you to understand him. Hey , blah blah blah, wasn't that

great? Woops, I can't understand you, you've got something in your

mouth...Can you spit it out so I can understand what you're saying?

Here is what I say:

Oral stimulation is a very powerful calmative. Offer substitutes like those

chewy tubes or beef jerky - something he'll have to work at chewing. He

might be old enough for gum. Offer as much sensory integration therapy as

you can, too. Ideally things he can do for himself, like jumping on a

trampoline or crawling through a tube...

Good luck.

-Sara.

[Guest guest]

> That's all I can think of right now but you get the idea. I'll pick

talking

> because I think it's the easiest. Every time you see him with something

in

> his mouth, start up a conversation. Pick something really interesting

that

> you know he will want to talk about. Then when he talks, you can't

> understand him because he's got something in his mouth. He'll have to

spit

> it out for you to understand him. Hey , blah blah blah, wasn't that

> great? Woops, I can't understand you, you've got something in your

> mouth...Can you spit it out so I can understand what you're saying?

Now that makes perfect sense...BUT...he KNOWS he shouldn't be doing it. As

soon as I SEE him doing it, he stops. He puts things in his mouth on the

sly -- when I'm out of the room, in the bathroom, ASLEEP... When I come

into the room, he pops whatever it is out of his mouth and tries to

surreptitiously hide it.

<sigh>

Jacquie

[Guest guest]

>>Now that makes perfect sense...BUT...he KNOWS he shouldn't be doing it.

As

soon as I SEE him doing it, he stops.

Then I'd definitely go with the substitutions. It sounds like he needs the

input & can't help himself from doing it -- provide safe substitutions and

let him know those are the things he should put in his mouth. Reward him

for using them instead of other things. Maybe take him to the store & let

him pick a few things out? He might be more willing to use them that way.

-Sara.

[Guest guest]

Well yeah, he knows you don't like it, but he may actually need to do it...

I'd just give him appropriate items.

Penny

>>>>>

Now that makes perfect sense...BUT...he KNOWS he shouldn't be doing it. As

soon as I SEE him doing it, he stops. He puts things in his mouth on the

sly -- when I'm out of the room, in the bathroom, ASLEEP... When I come

into the room, he pops whatever it is out of his mouth and tries to

surreptitiously hide it.

<sigh>

Jacquie

<<<<<<

[Guest guest]

> Now that makes perfect sense...BUT...he KNOWS he shouldn't be doing

it. As

> soon as I SEE him doing it, he stops. He puts things in his mouth

on the

> sly -- when I'm out of the room, in the bathroom, ASLEEP... When I

come

> into the room, he pops whatever it is out of his mouth and tries to

> surreptitiously hide it.>>

Jacquie,

If you think he NEEDS to have things in his mouth, it is probably

sensory...and the rule of thumb on that is that sensory needs have to

be met one way or another, so if you take it away without replacing

it with something that fills the need, he will just come up with a

different (and possibly worse) stim...

SO, Sara is right...replace it with appropriate mouth fidgets. It

can be foods, too...trick is to look at the characteristics of the

stuff he is mouthing, look at how he is handling it in his mouth, and

when he does it, and then use that information to choose appropriate

oral activities that mimic those things...that is how you get rid of

it.

Raena

[Guest guest]

UMMM>... Me too?? has been doing this for a while...when you get a solution

that works, lemme know!!

" It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous

that you realize just how much you love them. "

- Agatha Christie

, frazzled mom to:

, PDD-NOS, ADHD, Mixed Expressive/Receptive Language Disorder, 4

, NT, Terrible Twos, but adorable none-the-less, 2

I have a brand-new problem!

This is old hat to some of you, but it's brand new around here, so I need some

pointers!

has begun putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. Not to chew, or to eat, to

just to hold there. Marbles, film, plastic glow-in-the-dark stars, just to name

this morning's menu...

What is this?

Can I discourage it? I'm afraid to death of him choking!

Jacquie