Sensory Seeker - Chewing Shirts

[Embassy]

My six year old chews on his shirts. If it is long sleeved he chews on the sleeves. If it is short sleeved he chews on the neck. Gum has been used as a replacement with limited success. Anyone BTDT that can share what has worked?

[Laurie4b]

My six year old chews on his shirts. If it is long sleeved he chews on the sleeves. If it is short sleeved he chews on the neck. Gum has been used as a replacement with limited success. Anyone BTDT that can share what has worked?

 

Gum worked for us--but we used several pieces at a time. Another thing is a strip of plastic tubing. They sell it in OT catalogs as like a necklace thing or to put on pencils.

[Cami in UT]

:bigear:

 

My ds4 has the same issues. Actually chewed through the Wii Nunchuck cord on Saturday afternoon. :ohmy: I can't wait to see what other people say.

[Guest]

We bought a strip of aquarium tubing at the pet store and made it into a necklace.

[kokotg]

We used surgical tubing with my son, and it worked pretty well. Fortunately, he seems to have grown out of it now.

[Food4Thought]

We've BTDT! Gum worked well for us (Glee Gum is allergen free, if you're concerned about colorings/additives/gluten/dairy). We also got the T and P shaped chewers from an OT store, and those helped for a while. I got him eating carrots too - I keep a container in the fridge in cold water, and he goes and grabs a few when he's feeling chewy.

 

I hope you find something that helps!

[DaffodilDreams]

Wilbarger Protocol - you need to learn this under the guidance of an OT specializing in SPD.

 

jiggler (you can find these in OT catalogs or on OT supply sites) around mouth/chin area for a few seconds several times a day

 

chewelry or chewy tubes (again - OT supplies)

 

gum

 

crunchy or chewy foods (something that takes a lot of work to eat - carrot sticks work well for my dd)

 

suck yogurt or applesauce through a straw

[specialmama]

We've BTDT. We've tried all of the above. The chewy stix or P's & Q's work sometimes. But I think for my boy it's the texture, the feeling of the material coming apart between his teeth. We purchased some athletic bands, you know, like a sweatband but it goes on your wrist. We re-direct him with that. It's worked like a charm. Haven't had to pull it out in a while.

[Misty]

Chewelry....

 

http://www.nationalautismresources.com/chewelry.html

[Laura Corin]

We used chewy tubes - the boys had them on a string around their necks at home, but didn't wear them when they went out. The phase passed in the end.

 

Laura

[manylilblessings]

I'm no expert, but Dianne Craft links shirt chewing to zinc or magnesium deficiency in some kids. You might try that as well.

[dsmith]

I've been going nuts with the shirt chewing lately. Ds is going through 3 - 8 shirts a day. I've had to do more laundry to keep up with it. I've bought various chew tubes and necklaces,gum, plus he's on a sensory diet with brushing, etc. I'm at a loss. Hopefully he will leave this behind soon. It's especially difficult now because we are on the road with limited laundry facilities available.

[Embassy]

Update: After he started chewing holes in a couple shirts I started taking off his shirt once it was wet. He has to go shirtless while his shirt dries. I only had to take his shirt off once yesterday!

[RobinF]

We have had success with lots of redirection. I am interested in the link with vitamin deficiency and am going to do some more research on that.