Whether it is to relieve stress from boredom or they just like the way it feels it may be a sign that your child has an oral fixation or a need to chew on objects. While other children resort to hitting biting or tantrums some children simply start chewing holes in their clothes.
Why Your Sensory Child Chews And How You Can Help Sensory Autism Sensory Sensory Disorder
Sometimes it seems to be an unconscious activity like tapping your foot.
What causes a child to chew on clothes. On the gross side spit would inevitably get inside the tube and on to the eraser but we just switched out pencils every couple of days and let the used one dry out. Chewing is a form of oral sensory seeking. Its similar to how some people might bite their fingernails when theyre nervous or.
It wasnt nearly as obvious and it definitely helped give her the stimulation that she needed. Its a form of stimming that focuses on regulating the oral motor sensory system. What causes a child to chew on clothes or other item.
Firstly it might be that they have developmental delays. Children with delays continue to put things into their mouth as their level of development is lower than their actual age. By chewing on their clothing kids may be attempting to provide their oral musculature and joints with proprioceptive input in order to self-regulate.
There can be a few reasons why children chew on their clothing or other items. Autistic children are not the only ones who chew on their clothing but this behavior does occur commonly in kids with sensory processing disorders. We all have our own stimming reactions however in children with a sensory processing disorder the reactions are so controlling that they need to do them in order to function.
When a child places items in his mouth such as pencils or shirt sleeves he is seeking oral motor input in a sucking and chewing pattern. It is a form of sensory stimulation. It can be calming for them and reduce anxiety and stress.
The concept is very similar to the way adults may squeeze a stress-ball during times of high frustration or angst. Many times a child will chew on their shirt or article of clothing until there are holes or the clothing is constantly wet. The resources below will help you understand what stimming is as well as the reasons why your kid chews on everything.
It can help them to focus and pay attention. These movement patterns provide the child with sensory input that can assist a child to organize their minds and body allowing him to focus on the task at hand. Chewing provides proprioceptive input to the jaw that is very calming and organizing.
Secondly they child may have dental issues for these children a check up. Others suggest some children just need more physical movement and sitting still causes built up tension. Other times they will chew on objects such as pencils paper or really anything.
Other times he wont stop for more than a few seconds when asked. Chewing on things beyond the teething years is common in kids diagnosed with autism or sensory processing disorder. There could be many different reasons and its not always a straight answer.
In extreme cases children will even bite themselves leaving bruised and red bite marks on their skin. They may not even be aware that they are doing it. Sometimes he chews on the cuffs of long sleeve shirts too.
While one would chew in order to give them something to do and help them concentrate listen or think a sensory sensitive child might chew when they feel embarrassed or shy or overwhelmed as a way of calming down their central nervous system or releasing some of the emotion they are feeling. Then our OT suggested putting clear latex-free tubing on the end of her pencil. Every time they go on automatic and are about to chew they look at their wrist and fidget instead.
But hypothyroidism can cause delayed teething which can cause a child to chew on things. Conditions like ADHD and autism can also cause children to chew because it fulfills a sensory need for them. You may notice them doing it more often when they are watching TV or when they are tired.
It is normal for younger children to put items in their mouth. There are a variety of reasons cited for children mindlessly chewing on clothes. If your child is older you can try to help them remember not to chew their shirt by providing a fidget such as a twisty on their wrist.
The most common explanation for why some children chew is because of stress andor anxiety. They have a dental. But in my personal experience with the children I see in therapy its typically one or a combination of the following.
Common reasons that children with ADHD chew on their clothes are. Many children chew as a means of relieving their tension frustration and any other negative feelings they may have. Shirt biting can leave clothes in disarray and your budget in tatters too so its worth trying to reduce the chewing.
Kids will also go in phases of needing oral input - transitions and stress will definitely cause things to re-emerge. Hi Many children do go through this phase and for some it is a source of comfort and used as a way of relieving tension. When we noticed our daughter chewing on the collars of her shirts we didnt think anything of it but as it happened again and again we realized that most of the time when it happened she didnt know that she was doing it.
We sent her with chew tubes to school but they would get lost or stolen and we finally quit when she started feeling too different chewing on a tube. Most children pass through the phase quite quickly so it is best not to make a fuss but try to distract them with another activity or start a conversation. They have PICA an eating disorder whereby a person eats non-food items.
Both of these children can be chewers. Some sort of reward system for coming home with dry shirts really helps too - but you need to be sure and provide other appropriate oral. Saying shirt out will work for a moment.
Boredom Habit Coping While childhood stress is the most common cause for chewing on things like shirts it can also be the result of a host of other reasons including boredom habit an oral fixation or a reflex when trying to concentrate. Clearly it becomes a rather expensive habit but again aside from slowly breaking the habit the best thing to do is to find them something more suitable to chew on. It is along the lines of giving kids a koosh-ball for focused fidgeting in the classroom.
Some suggest chewing may assist children with focus and attention. Given enough time he will actually chew a hole in them. Dont panic -- your child has mostly likely developed a habit that she will outgrow.
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