To worry why my 3.5 year old is doing this?

[SpongeCake23]

My 3.5 year old is constantly putting things into his mouth. Playdough, sand, paper, the list goes on.

His nursery teacher brought it up to me this morning at drop off and said she thinks it could be a sensory issue.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has a child who is the same? And if they grew out of it.

He’s recently got funny about eating certain foods too, he’s always been a fussy/picky eater but he is becoming much worse. He’ll run food items on his mouth before actually putting it in.

Which seems strange to me as he’s so happy to eat playdough and sand etc without hesitation!

We have recently taken his dummy off him during the day and he only has it at night time now. So that could be part of the issue maybe?

I remember chewing on things as a child and eating paper, tissue etc. I still chew on my clothes when I’m anxious. I suspect I’m possibly ADHD, maybe ASD, but no diagnosis for me yet. I don’t think I’m ‘severe’ enough. I’m definitely neurodivergent though, so maybe he is too?

Should I be concerned the teacher spoke to me about it? I am assuming they have concerns. He’s only been there three weeks so far. She’s also commented on how he’s very ‘physical’ with the other children too. But he’s quite advanced in terms of his learning.

I would ask for a referral to paediatric occupational therapy and go from there. It may be something they grow out of, it may not, but either way the OTs will investigate and have lots of useful advice including further referrals if needed.

While you wait, you could get your son some safe sensory chew toys, Google for lots of options.

He sounds very much like my son who is autistic and more recently diagnosed with ADHD. He has sensory processing disorder. I would take it as a good thing this has been picked up early. I would see your GP or HV and ask for a referral for assessment. Wait lists are long but early intervention is absolutely the best way forward.

Sounds to me like you're reflecting your potential feelings about your own neurodiversity towards your son. Let him be, give him time to grow. If he's still doing this when he goes to school then maybe consider exploring options.

Mate, I appear as a fully functioning human being to those that don't know me. I was diagnosed age 50 for asd and I've started the adhd process. I scored highly and am very likely to get a diagnosis, so you don't need to be "severe".

Your son is a sensory seeker. He could be neurodiverse or may not be, but if nursery have raised concerns, go with it as it means support for him.

My step daughter is like that with food. She has just been diagnosed ASD at 8 years old.

I do know another little girl who does this though and she has sensory processing disorder.

obviously may not be either of these and he may just like to put things in his mouth.

.. parenting is a flipping minefield, always something to worry about!

Hard to say on the surface. I have one who has ASD/ADHD and they hated anything in their mouth when little. They would have died rather than putting any of that in their mouth. It was ‘known’ food they accepted only. Same for their hands, they couldn’t stand paint or food or sand or anything on their their hands so no messy food time or indeed any messy play for them when young! Silver linings😁. Got a hell of a shock when I had NT kids.

I agree with this one. If this is the only thing that’s leading you believe he may not be neurotypical then try not to jump to conclusions.

As a child I used to chew on paper and chalk, I just loved the taste. I’m very neurotypical. Children do odd things sometimes.

He doesn’t like the noise of hand dryers either.

My youngest son did this with stones and gravel at around age 3. He stopped once he was in nursery later that year and had no problems afterwards of that type.

I'm worried why you've only just taken his dummy off him during the day and he's still using one at night??!!! this is REALLY late to move on from a dummy.....whether he's neurodivergent or not he's obviously very used to using something in his mouth to self-sooth and inadvertently people who use dummies very late in their child's development are encouraging them to use oral stimulation in a particular way. Starting nursery is an understandably stressful time of a child's life so have you tried giving him an alternative comforter of some sort , teddie, blanket etc....being physical with other children is likewise a common stage for children when they don't have other ways of expressing or managing their feelings so he needs support to develop these self-soothing skills. He's at the age where he needs to be encouraged to use his words and overuse of dummies also inhibits speech development. Is he your first child? picky eating is very common at certain stages and again needs to be handled in a way where you give him lots of opportunity to explore trying new foods in a relaxed way. Good luck but maybe its worth having a chat with a health visitor or sitting down with nursery staff and exploring different ways you can support your son? We all need support to be effective parents and I know parenting in the last couple of years must have been very challenging and perhaps people have missed out on learning about child development from other people.

p.s.for anyone else reading this who doesnt know , its advised that babies are weaned off dummies by the age of 1 .

My DD (no neurodiversity) used to do this all the time. She outgrew it. By contrast, my DD who does have ASD just licked things rather than putting them in her mouth.

Sensory is part of how children develop and learn. Do the nursery have concerns? He’s very young to be diagnosed, although I appreciate the waiting lists are long. Fussy eating is also very normal.

😄 no kids do!

My DD3 weirdly loves hand dryers! But yes in general young kids are not fans.

Have you spoken to him about it? How's his speech and understanding? DD is a similar age and would be able to have a conversation about it and talk about why it's not a good idea for some things to be in mouths.

My son did this does sometimes now at 5 and he has sensory processing disorder. I suspect adhd but just watching and waiting (and struggling sometimes with behaviour) he also randomly developed tics which went away and sometimes he stutters ALOT, that comes out the blue and disappears just as quickly.

This is also the same for my son. Its a huge battle to cut his hair, refuses to go to a barbers. The hairs after literally melt him down too. It's taken until now for him to tollorate hair washes and stuff, he feels odd with socks on etc too

Not many children do OP. My 11 year old still flees when she sees me get the vacuum out 😂

Is your son eating the items or just putting them in his mouth? There is a condition called Pica which isn't actually that uncommon and although more prevalent in neurodiverse children it is also a stand alone thing.

thechildpsychologyservice.co.uk/advice-strategy/pica/

But as other posters have said it may just be a sensory transition phase as he is used to having his dummy.

Sensory seeking/sensory issues don’t mean ASD on their own. Differences in social and communication skills have to be present.

Most kids don't like the noise of handdriers.

My dd used to have pica (eating non-food), but she grew out of it. I'm not 100% sure she's neurotypical, but she doesn't have a diagnosis of anything and functions fairly normally. If it's the only thing worrying you, I'd say it's probably not a big deal; if there are other things going on, then it could be something to have checked out.

@Mamapep his communication skills are fine. In fact his speech is quite advanced for his age and he spoke quite early.

Just stop fishing and let him be. Send the dummy off with the dummy fairy and focus on getting him ready for school.

In the first instance, I would get him seen by a paediatrician asap. I have a ds who has adhd and although he has some sensory issues, what OP describes as, preferring to eat paper, sand etc does not sound in line with that. It resonates more with a separate eating condition called PICA which does occur more in dc with autism.

It might be worth talking to your HV. See if there is OT assessment in your area for his age group. You don't need to be sure about something to be worth getting checked out, and people can have sensory processing issues without it being autism.

I think it's very likely to be to do with losing the dummy, but maybe he still had a dummy because he needed it more than other children his age.

How's his speech? Does he understand everything you say?

With respect, this is really bad advice. The earlier a child is diagnosed the better, it is a long wait. It's not about reflecting, it's about recognising symptoms and clear neurodiverse behaviour and having the tools to deal with it.

....having the tools to deal with it that should have said. Don't know why the last line went missing!