Guest guest Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 Lindsey sucks her two fingers very frequently. The dentist said its not good for her already high arched palate. She's 6, but its a hard thing to break! She will definitely need orthodontic treatment because her mouth is too small for all her permanent teeth that is shown on the X-ray. Not sure of the original post ,so im just rambling:) Jennie <A HREF= " http://lindsey03.homestead.com/mygirl.html " >Lindsey's website </A> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 26, 2003 Report Share Posted February 26, 2003 Just to chime in, my twelve year old sucked her thumb until about the age of ten. She had a terrible overbite. Our terrific dentist asked her to stop sucking her thumb and she completely gave it up within a week or two of that visit. And her teeth and bite are now quite beautiful. Well she has recently started loosing every tooth in her mouth. Some of you with older children will remember how at this age the kids can stick their hands in their mouth one day and just pull out a tooth. I have also heard that sucking the thumb helps to develop the soft palate. I wish my dsyarthric child would suck her thumb and help that soft palate along. Deirdre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Just curious, why do you want to stop this behavior? The reason I ask is that one of the behaviors that my AS son has is that he chews his nails obsesively, especially when he is nervous, bored, tired or intently consentrating. We have not had to clip his nails since he was a year old. Our doctors told us it is a stress relieving behavior and basically if we get him to stop doing that he will most likely start doing something else. The types of behaviors that they can do would be sucking on something, chewing on clothes, biting nails, picking at skin/scabs, pulling hair, and fondling themselves. With all the posibilities out there I came to see that maybe biting his nails wasn't so bad. Also, if this is a stress behavior then trying to get them to stop may cause more stress. Vickie > > Hi All, > > I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop > sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would > appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. > > April > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 I am embarrassed to say I was a thumb sucker for 11 years! My Mom put bitter flavor on my thumbs and that didn't do the trick. My orthodontist said I had to quit before wearing braces & implemented two things that worked. He made a retainer that had a pointy thing that came out of the roof of my mouth so that my thumb would get a poke. And I had to say 10-15 times before bed " I will not suck my thumb " , or something similar. Those two things worked for me. I can't believe I sucked my thumb for so long! I only did it at night. Liz Houston April Broussard <aprilbroussard@...> wrote: Hi All, I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. April --------------------------------- Any questions? Get answers on any topic at Answers. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 April, Our orthodontist just gave me some stuff because my son was putting " things " in his mouth. He said it is for thumb sucking though. I guess it is from a doctor in Switzerland and they have had great sucess with it. It is called Mavala Stop. We haven't used it yet because I only want to put it on things he is putting in his mouth and right now he's not doing that, thank goodness Suzanne -- Re: ( ) Thumb Sucking I am embarrassed to say I was a thumb sucker for 11 years! My Mom put bitter flavor on my thumbs and that didn't do the trick. My orthodontist said I had to quit before wearing braces & implemented two things that worked. He made a retainer that had a pointy thing that came out of the roof of my mouth so that my thumb would get a poke. And I had to say 10-15 times before bed " I will not suck my thumb " , or something similar. Those two things worked for me. I can't believe I sucked my thumb for so long! I only did it at night. Liz Houston April Broussard <aprilbroussard@...> wrote: Hi All, I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. April --------------------------------- Any questions? Get answers on any topic at Answers. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 April, My grandson, is 14 yrs old & still sucked his thumb until we recently got his braces on with an added feature a Habit Appliance so he couldn't get his thumb in there but every once in a while I see him putting just the tip of his thumb in his mouth. Believe me we have tried every thing from hot sauce to band-aides. I bet if his braces came off today he would be sucking that thumb. I think that he used it to " center " himself. I hope the desire goes away before they come off in 2 yrs. One never knows. Good Luck,Betty April Broussard <aprilbroussard@...> wrote: Hi All, I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. April --------------------------------- Bored stiff? Loosen up... Download and play hundreds of games for free on Games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Let's us know if it works for the thumb suicking. I hope I wouldn't see doing that again. He'll probably be 16yrs old when these braces come off. Betty Suzanne <suzannex6@...> wrote: April, Our orthodontist just gave me some stuff because my son was putting " things " in his mouth. He said it is for thumb sucking though. I guess it is from a doctor in Switzerland and they have had great sucess with it. It is called Mavala Stop. We haven't used it yet because I only want to put it on things he is putting in his mouth and right now he's not doing that, thank goodness Suzanne -- Re: ( ) Thumb Sucking I am embarrassed to say I was a thumb sucker for 11 years! My Mom put bitter flavor on my thumbs and that didn't do the trick. My orthodontist said I had to quit before wearing braces & implemented two things that worked. He made a retainer that had a pointy thing that came out of the roof of my mouth so that my thumb would get a poke. And I had to say 10-15 times before bed " I will not suck my thumb " , or something similar. Those two things worked for me. I can't believe I sucked my thumb for so long! I only did it at night. Liz Houston April Broussard <aprilbroussard@...> wrote: Hi All, I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. April --------------------------------- Any questions? Get answers on any topic at Answers. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Sucking your thumb can lead to problems with your mouth/bite/teeth. That is one major reason to work on ending it. Chewing nails is a bad nasty habit as well. My ds chews his and goes past the line to where his nails look angry and sore. I'd love to find a way to get him to stop doing that. I worry he will get an infection. Roxanna ( ) Re: Thumb Sucking Just curious, why do you want to stop this behavior? The reason I ask is that one of the behaviors that my AS son has is that he chews his nails obsesively, especially when he is nervous, bored, tired or intently consentrating. We have not had to clip his nails since he was a year old. Our doctors told us it is a stress relieving behavior and basically if we get him to stop doing that he will most likely start doing something else. The types of behaviors that they can do would be sucking on something, chewing on clothes, biting nails, picking at skin/scabs, pulling hair, and fondling themselves. With all the posibilities out there I came to see that maybe biting his nails wasn't so bad. Also, if this is a stress behavior then trying to get them to stop may cause more stress. Vickie > > Hi All, > > I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop > sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would > appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. > > April > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.410 / Virus Database: 268.17.8/649 - Release Date: 1/23/2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Liz, I did it too! And those things helped as well, although I didn't get the braces until I could afford them at age 19. But I did tell myself I wouldn't and that helps. Roxanna Re: ( ) Thumb Sucking I am embarrassed to say I was a thumb sucker for 11 years! My Mom put bitter flavor on my thumbs and that didn't do the trick. My orthodontist said I had to quit before wearing braces & implemented two things that worked. He made a retainer that had a pointy thing that came out of the roof of my mouth so that my thumb would get a poke. And I had to say 10-15 times before bed " I will not suck my thumb " , or something similar. Those two things worked for me. I can't believe I sucked my thumb for so long! I only did it at night. Liz Houston April Broussard <aprilbroussard@...> wrote: Hi All, I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. April --------------------------------- Any questions? Get answers on any topic at Answers. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 My son does the samething as well.I have tried getting him to stop.he keeps doing it.he has done it for most of his life(and hes 9).he chews to where ur son chews to it sounds like...I am worried to that he will get an infection as well.... -- Re: ( ) Re: Thumb Sucking Sucking your thumb can lead to problems with your mouth/bite/teeth. That is one major reason to work on ending it. Chewing nails is a bad nasty habit as well. My ds chews his and goes past the line to where his nails look angry and sore. I'd love to find a way to get him to stop doing that. I worry he will get an infection. Roxanna ( ) Re: Thumb Sucking Just curious, why do you want to stop this behavior? The reason I ask is that one of the behaviors that my AS son has is that he chews his nails obsesively, especially when he is nervous, bored, tired or intently consentrating. We have not had to clip his nails since he was a year old. Our doctors told us it is a stress relieving behavior and basically if we get him to stop doing that he will most likely start doing something else. The types of behaviors that they can do would be sucking on something, chewing on clothes, biting nails, picking at skin/scabs, pulling hair, and fondling themselves. With all the posibilities out there I came to see that maybe biting his nails wasn't so bad. Also, if this is a stress behavior then trying to get them to stop may cause more stress. Vickie > > Hi All, > > I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop > sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would > appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. > > April > ---------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.410 / Virus Database: 268.17.8/649 - Release Date: 1/23/2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 my son 15 and still does it but he only does it when he stress tired and things, i not sure if he does it in school, wich i say he does at times, but the dr just said it confort thing, but i know he needs to stop sometimes, his dad keep yelling at hiom for it. well hope tihnings work out for you angel --------------------------------- Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Travel to find your fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 > Thank you to all of you who shared on this subject. I really appreciate all you had to say. I was actually a thumb sucker to about 6 or 7 and also had that " wonderful " dentist contraption put in my mouth. (I hate to admit it, but it did work) I know that the thumb sucking is a stress reliever for her, but my concern is about her writing. She is sucking her thumb constantly at school and even when doing her work so she isn't doing the things that require two hands with two hands. I am sure many of you deal with fine motor skills difficulties and writing with only one hand only makes her letters harder to read. I am thinking about having her teacher try some positive reinforcement throughout the day when she sees that she isn't sucking her thumb while doing her work. Maybe a sticker chart attached to her desk that she can walk by and add a sticker to. I guess we'll see. April > Hi All, > > I need some ideas for helping my 7 yr old AS/ADHD daughter stop > sucking her thumb. Has anyone else struggled with this? I would > appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance. > > April > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 27, 2007 Report Share Posted January 27, 2007 My son still sucks his thumb (11) but has stopped at school because they allow him to chew gum as an accomodation which seems to work for him while at school. He knows that the gum has to be disposed of properly and he is a very big stickler for 'rules'. One of the other kids has a stress ball they can squeeze but that isn't a solution if she needs both hands free. The therapist told us you can't 'ban' a behavior. You can work to replace it with an acceptable behavior, but the acceptable behavior has to give the same feeling/response to the child or it won't work for them. Kathy J. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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