How can I help my asd child stop/limit chewing

[SeNMomma33]

DS (7) is awaiting an ASD and ADhD assessment, one of the things we are really struggling with at the moment is chewing. He has chew toys that we make sure he always has with him, he uses these pretty consistently especially when there is a change to his routine or he is feeling anxious or stressed about a situation. However we are really struggling with him chewing his clothes. He has bitten a hole through 5 pairs of trousers this half term, he’s ruined multiple school jumpers and T-shirts and will bite through anything he can get hold of. As I say we make sure he always has his chew around his neck but sometimes if we are out of the room making food etc he just forgets about it and chews his clothes. I’m at a loss as I’m constantly buying new clothes and he bites through them within days. Any advice?

Sympathy. Been there! Still am, but it will get better. You can’t stop him. It would be mean to try. Use his PIP to buy cheap clothes. The school also has to make reasonable adjustments for disability so go in and talk about using generic sweaters etc in school colours rather than expensive branded clothing. But as much as you can on Vinted, charity shops etc.

Thanks for the advice @Namechange7598and sorry to hear you are going through it too! We haven’t applied for pip yet as I’ve been unsure if he would get it but I think I will apply now as it’s costing a small fortune! School have been very understanding about him having to wear trainers everyday as he was having huge meltdowns about his school shoes feeling ‘funny’ so I’m hopefully that they will be understanding about the jumpers too!

What about wristlets to go over his jumpers, so he chews those instead of the jumpers? He's got a chew necklace so that's a good thing.

If i may ask though, how the heck is he chewing his trousers?! Is he the Incredible Bendy Boy or something?

What are you giving him to chew? If he likes fabric then you need to make sure you are giving fabric chews.

There’s a thing called a Gummee Glove. The original was created for teething babies but the owners have now created a larger one specifically for older children with special needs and behaviours like chewing etc. he might not get on with it because it’s a mitten that velcros over the wrist, but if he does there are different attachments to chew on.

gummee.life/collections/special-needs-glove?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAA_NVjde0vQ230x4u7WLDsGoGCm9en&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImqnMsf_4jAMViphQBh1cOgVzEAAYASACEgKMyfD_BwE

Many autistic children/people are hypermobile but surely everyone can bring their knee to their mouth either by raising their knees or bending at the waist while sitting.

Definitely apply for PIP! This sort of thing is exactly what it’s for. My son is now late teens and still chews. I buy t shirts from H&M in bulk and snip out the labels, but they still get ripped and chewed! It is what it is.

My DS is 8 & the same. I cut a piece off a dressing gown robe & he happily takes that everywhere & chews it 😅

If he misplaces that he chews on those face flannel types

Chews and other sensory stuff didn't work for him but actual cloth seems to stop him at least chewing his clothes

https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/services/hospital-services/neurodevelopmental/documents/underresponsive-to-oral-sensation/

that link has lots of ideas which may help. Electric toothbrush was really good for DS

its DLA for children; not PIP.

I have a chewer too, literally anything close to hand (including a lot of clothes, but also hard objects with no give). The sensory chews don't last longer than a day, or teething chews, towelling fabric is not acceptable though for him. Have you considered hankies @SeNMomma33? Mine likes muslins.

Also, has anyone ever had a NT chewer? Ds was assessed at 4 (now 6) and the NHS CDC said v likely he is NT, just lacking mental stimulation (not a genius, but a few years ahead in some aspects). I wonder sometimes about getting him checked again.

I had an autistic chewer at that age - he wouldn’t accept a chewy toy, separate cloth, even an old shirt he’d already chewed - it had to be the sleeves or collar of what he was wearing. He’d turn a school shirt into threads in a day. Any attempt to redirect him just heightened his feelings and he’d chew more, or start chewing himself. If he wasn’t wearing a shirt he’d chew the knees of his trousers.

What stopped it eventually was dealing with his environment leading to a combination of reduced anxiety and better emotional regulation (chewing was massively connected to feeling upset or stressed) and also just growing out of it. Occasionally he still chews his collar, and that’s my sign there’s something going on and he’s stressed or dysregulated.

Good luck, it’s not easy to address and you may well find it’s better to figure out how to live with it.

Edit to add - one thing that did help a bit, if he started chewing a shirt and it got wet, we took it off and put on a dry one and often that stopped it before he actually made holes. Once it was wet he seemed to find it irritating or remember it was there more and he’d keep going and going until it was destroyed, whereas if it was replaced with a dry one he’d sometimes forget about it and move on.

Nope! Not even close…but I suspect most children can. I’m very jealous 😆

It might be worth enquiring about OT assessment/services as they might be able to do a sensory assessment and see if there is any non-chewing type need he's trying to meet with the chewing, which could be addressed another way.

Other than that they would just suggest items to chew as others are doing.

My DS2 is 27 years old... and still chewing all his clothes. His T shirts are eaten within days and hoodies, any hoodie cords are chomped within hours ditto cords in joggers ! He never accepted any of the chewy toys or chew jewellry.

He is autistic and moderately able, he even has a job in a supermarket...but he ate his work lanyard ..luckily they 'get' him and don't mind.

We replace his still using his PIP. ..do apply for DLA.

He also ate... his bed headboard, his ipad through to electrics (and the protective cover), my shower screen wiper, my face sponges. Just as well I love him!!!!

I promise most of us grow out of it. Neither my daughter or I chew on anything in public.

In the meantime, have you tried just asking him to help you brainstorm substitutes? One thing I found is that no matter how many ideas I had, sometimes the best thing was just to sit down with my child and ask her what she liked about that particular fixation. Was it the location, the feeling, that she didn’t have to get something out of a pocket? I would be very specific. If she got stressed we would try again another day and I would always phrase it as a project I was working on that I was hoping she could help me with. That way I could make it about my obsession and not hers. Then I would almost always make her something as the solution because I am handy and I could never find a product to meet her exact needs anyway.

If you sit on the sofa, bed or floor can’t you bend your knees and rest your chin on your knees as in the photo? I can easily do this and I’m definitely not a child! I thought every able bodied person could. Maybe I’m bendier than I thought?

Oh god maybe I’m the broken one!! Just tried and I definitely can’t 😱😔 Maybe my old joints have given up the will to bend 😢

Both my boys are chewers. We asked for a reasonable adjustment to their school uniforms, they had generic supermarket jumpers in the school colours and we also got first dibs on unclaimed lost property at the end of the school year for spare jumpers for which I made a donation. One of them also chewed through several ps2 controllers and the wooden side of a bunk bed. They never accepted any chewllery, it was always something they found for themselves!