help with spd kid's thumb sucking

[grace'smom]

My daughter has a lot of anxiety and a diagnosis with sensory processing disorder. She's got a lot of little quirky things she does to help with anxiety, including pulling her hair and sucking her thumb in order to get to sleep. Actually, she has a little regimen of things that will get her to sleep and they must all be there in order to sleep: she gets a melatonin sleep spray (or she wouldn't sleep at all), she needs some ice water (which is why she still wets the bed), she needs a book, some snuggle time, and about 15-20 minutes of sucking her thumb while systematically pulling her hair (not out, just tucking on it).

 

She has a huge gap between her front teeth now (she's 5 1/2) and her 6 year molars are starting to come in. We're afraid she's going to need braces if we don't get her to stop thumb sucking.

 

Does anyone have any tips on how to help her stop sucking her thumb? She only does it when she's tired or anxious, but that's the worst time to try to get her to stop, KWIM? I'm not sure of how to go about this... She struggles so much already, how do we take away a coping method?

 

Thanks for any tips in advance! I'm SURE there's someone here who's BTDT!

 

Hailey

[rootsnwings]

She's probably going to need braces regardless. I wouldn't worry about it, especially if it curbed anxiety for her & if she is only doing it 15-20 min it doesn't seem like a huge deal. I know it's so hard not to worry over it but I seriously wouldn't.

[Murmer]

In the kindest possible way Don't worry about it....my sister sucked her thumb until 12 (when she got spikes in her mouth) even with my mom doing the pepper polish, gloves and every other thumb sucking ending idea ever created...my DH sucked his thumb until he was at least 18 it is scarred from his thumb sucking. You could try things but I think the only way to truly get a person to stop is spikes or them deciding for themselves.

[grace'smom]

Well, we were hoping to avoid the cost of braces but it sounds like we're in for it anyway? I guess we should just leave it be then... Makes thing easier on this side anyway.

[Halcyon]

my 5 yr old has sucked his thumb since birth, and if he CAN have his thumb in his mouth, he will. It's become an issue because he won't read certain books if they don't 'stay open' on their own, he doesn't want to write right now (he's a BIG writer) because he can't suck his thumb while writing...it's gotten worse in the last few months and Ii don't know why. We're going to the doc today and we're going to talk to him about it.

[siloam]

My daughter has a lot of anxiety and a diagnosis with sensory processing disorder. She's got a lot of little quirky things she does to help with anxiety' date=' including pulling her hair and sucking her thumb in order to get to sleep. Actually, she has a little regimen of things that will get her to sleep and they must all be there in order to sleep: she gets a melatonin sleep spray (or she wouldn't sleep at all), she needs some ice water (which is why she still wets the bed), she needs a book, some snuggle time, and about 15-20 minutes of sucking her thumb while systematically pulling her hair (not out, just tucking on it).

 

She has a huge gap between her front teeth now (she's 5 1/2) and her 6 year molars are starting to come in. We're afraid she's going to need braces if we don't get her to stop thumb sucking.

 

Does anyone have any tips on how to help her stop sucking her thumb? She only does it when she's tired or anxious, but that's the worst time to try to get her to stop, KWIM? I'm not sure of how to go about this... She struggles so much already, how do we take away a coping method?

 

Thanks for any tips in advance! I'm SURE there's someone here who's BTDT!

 

Hailey[/quote']

 

Nothing worked here. Wearing gloves to bed did help, but she would pull them off at times. She was almost 9 before she stopped.

 

Heather