Argh Ds1 annoying habits.

[ImFree2doasiwant]

Ds1 is 5. Fir the past year he has developed a variety of habits/tics. They come and go and change around. Sniffing. "Hmm"ing. Fiddling. That sort of thing. I generally ignore them

The latest set though. Oh my god its driving me crazy. Fingers in his mouth, his lips/face around lips constantly wet. Mouth noises - wet mouth noises. Making a spit bubble with his mouth.

I am really struggling to ignore these,honestly I find it really disgusting. His face/lips are getting sore too from all the dribble not to mention him wiping spit on himself and the furniture.

Any suggestions on how to get him to stop this? Is getting some sort of fidget toy a good idea?

It could be a habit he grows out of naturally but since he has had previous sensory 'tics', I would consider investigating further. Could it be a stress reaction? A way of coping with anxiety? How is he getting on at school? Does his school have a SENCO you could talk to? GP? I would be looking at his processing skills and possibly whether he has retained reflexes.

He is mildly anxious. But we have discovered that if he knows what's happening and when, how etc he's much better.

Hes doing really well at school, he loves it and is very bright.

I don't know what retained reflexes are so will look it up

It sounds a bit obvious- but have you asked him to stop? Is it a bad habit or a tic?

Is he getting plenty of fresh air and lots of exercise?

I have asked him to stop this one. I'd read (probably on here) to ignore. I dont know if its habit or tic.

He gets lots and lots of outside exercise.

He doesn't realisevhescdoibgbitva lit of the time, but has stopped the fingers. Still making the noises.

Try again....he doesn't realise he's doing it

My sister used to chew her hair as a little girl. I think some children just adopt these habits and need to be helped out of them.

A fidget toy sounds a good idea.

This might be helpful: ilslearningcorner.com/2016-02-oral-sensitivities-why-my-child-chews-on-pencils-and-sucks-on-clothing/

Have you tried painting his finger nails with that anti nail biting stuff you can buy to stop the fingers in the mouth problem?

I think a fidget toy may be a good idea. If you want to give him some calming input for the anxiety you can offer crunchy, chewy foods, drinking thick liquids through a straw. Also try some deep pressure touch and heavy work activities (pulling, pushing, carrying, lifting).
I always ignore my sons tics as the are mostly related to stress and anxiety so drawing attention just adds to the stress. He gets a lot of relaxation from being on his swing, I’ve also bought him a rocking chair to chill in whilst he listens to his music.

I would caution against negative reinforcements like nail polish if the behaviours are related to anxiety he needs an alternative outlet not just being forced to stop the one he’s currently got which he may not have a great deal of control over.

My son has Autism and has these behaviours, we have gone through many different sensory seeking behaviours over the past 13 years. I would speak to school, he may benefit from an OT assessment in future to identify his triggers and appropriate responses to give him sensory feedback.

Thank you for the ideas and suggestions. I read the link above, it doesn't really seem to apply I dont think.

I think he displays these ehavoours mist, when he is watching TV, or settling down to sleep. If he is engaged in playing, reading, doing school work type activities (he loves an activity booknir work sheet) then he doesn't do them. He doesn't do them if we're outside. So I dobt know if its a soothing thing when he's sitting quiet, or boredom.

We had a chat about him putting his fingers in his mouth last night, and he didn't do it again. I havent noticed him do it today. There is something else hes doing atm which he said he cant help doing, this is why I've tried to ignore it. I'll look into a fidget toy.

He has no trouble sitting still or concentrating/listening at school.

We have parent evening type calls coming up so will seeif his teachers have noticed anything.

Have a chat with GP and get their opinion. My brother and a close family friend both have tourettes and their tics were one of the first real signs, at about the same ago.