Help! Rash around mouth

[Spring Flower]

DS5 is scheduled for an ASD evaluation in 3 weeks so we don't have an official diagnosis but I feel I will be able to get help here anyway. One of DS's repetitive behaviors is putting his fingers in his mouth. It usually isn't too sever and I haven't really worked with him on correcting this behavior yet. (We're still working on wearing clothes.) With the cold, dry weather lately, he has formed a bad rash around his mouth. It is really chapped and red. I tried putting chapstick on tonight and he cried for 5 minutes because it hurt. Question #1, how do I stop him from putting his fingers in his mouth? Question #2, how can I relieve the pain from the rash? TIA!

 

 

[kbutton]

Aw, poor kid. It sounds like when kids get a pacifier rash.

 

I would try any barrier cream that doesn't sting and try to wash with plain water now and then to get some of that acidic spit off of his face. Maybe coconut oil (you can use refined if the flavor bugs him) would work. I love coconut oil products for my skin, and they are usually okay to get in your mouth. Or maybe something by Burt's Bees? Putting something on at night is probably the most important--it'll have a better chance of absorbing into his skin if he's asleep and not wiping at it.

[OneStepAtATime]

Agree with kbutton.  And  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug: .  So sorry, Spring Flower.

[displace]

Vaseline trial for skin around mouth.

 

Thumb suck preventer/nail bite preventer to stop fingers in mouth. Tastes gross! Or maybe a little nail polish remover on fingertips.

[Lecka]

I think you have two directions.  Either it is about his hands, or it is about his mouth. 

 

If he wants something in his mouth, you look for alternative things that can go in his mouth, and see if that replaces his fingers.  That is -- looking for a replacement behavior.  Then encourage the replacement behavior.  This could be -- gum, sensory mouth items (a lot exist), offer him a drink of water.  I don't know -- stuff like that. 

 

If he wants something for his hands, you look for something he would rather fiddle with or carry around.  Or, see if you can get him involved in playing with a toy with his hands. 

 

I would not do thumb suck preventer, just b/c, I doubt it would really work.  You need something he will like and would rather do, that you can encourage him to do.  You don't want to just block it and see what might sprout in its place.  Aka -- what if he starts picking his nose or his nails, what if he starts chewing on something else you don't want him to chew.  You could end up with something just as bad.  If you can find something that works and encourage him towards it, that is more likely to keep something just as bad (or even worse) from popping up. 

 

I do not know what to do about the rash, poor kid, I hope it will heal and he can leave it alone. 

 

Sometimes you can turn up ideas for replacement behaviors by googling replacement behavior and then what he is doing.  It may turn out to be common, or maybe not.  Also, you can look up sensory things and see if there are any sensory ideas that click for why he might be doing this, and try to address it that way.  Another thing to try is just to see if you can find some more engaging thing to do with his hands. 

 

But a lot of kids do have a desire to chew on things, I think a lot of people would say to try a chewy necklace or item first (these are a real thing -- I don't know specifics, as my son does not like them, but if you google autism sensory products or something, you can see things, but I have no idea what ones are good, just they are a thing, I have heard a lot of positive opinions and then some kids where they just do not have an interest). 

 

Another idea -- keep your eye out for times when he does not have his hand in his mouth.  It may be rare ---- but see what these times are.  These activities or items are things to give you an idea, for more activities/items/times he does not have his hand in his mouth.  You can try to do that activity or have that kind of item more often, or try to re-direct to that.  Or if you notice he doesn't do it (or does it less) when you are in a certain part of the house or anything like that -- look and see when he does it less, look and see when he does it more.  There is a chance he does it as a self-soothing thing when he is less secure in his environment -- it is a possibility.  I am trying to think of a lot of possibilities, overall you want to guess what need he could have that he is trying to meet by keeping his hand in his mouth, and try to help him meet that need in another way, and also try to give him something else to do instead. 

 

It is usually a lot better to re-direct TO something, that just try to stop a behavior.  You want to give a positive choice that you can encourage. 

 

There is also a vague chance that it is a learned behavior ---- that he has learned, if he does it, he will get attention from mom.  Or, he has learned, that if he does it, mom will stop doing x and so he can get out of x situation.  Another learned behavior is to do something, in order to get something.  So -- you want to try not to teach him that if he puts his hand in his mouth you are going to give him a certain item (that he may not have another way to request, if he has limited ability to request items).  Those are the 3 main learned behaviors from functional behavior analysis (fba) and it might be worth trying to see if you see any patterns that way.  It is a possibility.  But it is really likely to be a sensory thing -- that would make a lot of sense.  Anyway -- basically this is where, when kids do not know a better way to communicate, they will figure out that a certain behavior gets them attention, or gets them out of something, or gets them something they want.  But -- it is easy to make wrong assumptions, a lot of things kids do they are not doing for these reasons.  But -- it is a possibility, too. 

 

There is also a possibility his mouth hurts?  I would say doubtful, but if he does not know how to express pain yet, he may not be able to communicate this.  It is probably pretty unlikely, but it is a possibility.

 

I hope the eval goes well. 

 

My little son was diagnosed about 2 years ago, he is 6 now :) 

[Jennifer-72]

I have found the lanolin that they sell for nursing mothers is fantastic for those really bad chapped lips.

 

Building on Lecka thoughts, I think it is important to look at when you find him doing this the most. Those repetitive behaviours are serving a very important role/need for him right now. Might be coping with sensory overload or any number of things.

 

Not an immediate answer to your situation, but something that may help you out is to look at activities he engages in, even other repetitive type play he likes to do. You can try to build on those and use a match, model, more principle to keep him engaged and moving forward. Even though it can seem like you aren't making any headway or you only see what you think is a small flash of forward movement it can be the key to getting into your little one's world and him taking steps into yours. We started with my son's repetitive building of a tower of blocks when he was 2 1/2. He would always build it in the same way and generally the same place in the play room. Using a match model more principle I would sit alongside him and try to build another tower like his and then knock it down. Of course that became a new thing for him to do and a way for us to even very briefly engage, we kept building on that very slowly. As small and insignificant as that sounds that was my way in. Doing that kind of approach with ds all day, everyday, in any way I could manage, is what really helped reduced other troublesome behaviours. When you can channel all that is going on in his head in new ways you open up so much development and old coping needs give way to new more productive ones (not to say it is the end of all problematic behaviour!). At least that is how things worked for us.

[merry gardens]

I'd take him to a dermatologist. Not just any doctor--a dermatologist. 

 

My dd had a rash that flared up for a few months.  It got a little better with the creams and ointments we tried but it kept coming back.  Eventually I took her to the dermatologist.  He knew exactly what it was and prescribed a course of oral antibiotics for her. She took it for about a week and the problem finally went away.  That was over a year ago and her rash hasn't been back since.

 

ASD aside, if he has a severe rash, he has a skin problem.  See a skin doctor.

[Spring Flower]

Thank you for all of the great responses! There are so many things I hadn't even thought of or considered. I really have my work cut out for me with this kid. I've really just been shooting from the hip trying to help him through problematic behavior. I see I have so much to learn. 

[Spring Flower]

The rash does look better this morning, btw.