How to stop Autistic DS chewing through all his clothes.

[Mammasjusttired]

DS is 6 and recently diagnosed with ASD, awaiting a ADHD assessment. He’s always chewing, so much so that he even grinds and chews his teeth at night. He has chew necklaces that we encourage him to wear and these seem to massively help with his anxiety when we are out. However even when he’s got these on he still chews his clothes and I’m at my wits ends with it! He’s chewed through the neck bit of every t-shirt he owns, gone through 6 pairs of jeans (he bites the knees), can’t wear school jumpers for more than a week etc.
Ive looked at burning the wrist cuffs to stop him biting those and as I say he always has his chew necklaces on but does anyone have any tips of how to get him biting through the tops of his tshirts? They look like they’ve been attacked by moths and I can’t afford to keep buying new clothes every week (we have applied for DLa but only just sent the forms off)

Chewing gum? Chewy snacks?

I feel your pain, we went through this for years and the only thing that stopped it was ADHD medication and maybe some mental development? He is now 11, and I think the only thing he chews periodically in his school tie.

Others may be along with other suggestions, but I’d say it might be something that you need to ride out for a while.

Some of that horrible tasting stuff that you can put on nails?

@yoshiblueglad to know we’re not the only ones going through this! We’ve only just filled in the ADHD forms so I’m guessing we are a couple of years away from medication being an option yet. Hopefully he will outgrow the chewing!

Not from direct Experience with chewing, usually if you're trying to replace one sensory experience with another you need to replicate the experience to a degree. I would suggest the chewies aren't working because they are a different sensory experience than the clothes. Try sewing/attaching patches/fabric strips to his clothes in the same place. Then prompt/switch everytime.

So we had this problem and the biggest thing that helped was changing schools.

That probably sounds super unhelpful but my point is addressing the other underlying unmet needs massively reduced his need to chew. So what other triggers might be affecting him that you can change, that he can't tell you? Are his clothes scratchy? Could he be thirsty, constipated, needing more heavy work/movement/bouncing to regulate? Occupational therapy would be perfect to help with this.

Practical tips - I used to buy "cuffing" to replace chewed through sweater wristbands. Lined trouser pockets with fabric of a texture he loved. Ice lollies - jubblies are best, lots of surface area and not much mess.. Trampoline.

My (autistic) daughter used to do this. We used to call her a goat.
She did grow out of it. It was mostly an anxiety thing.
She had a couple of cuddly toys that she chewed which is the same texture as clothes. Would he maybe chew a cuddly toy instead of a chew necklace. Or those little mini comfort blankets you can get for babies?

I would get a sensory OT assessment and then you will get specific advise tailed to your son and his needs. It might sound expensive but cheaper than buying endless new clothes.

Oh, you have my sympathies. 23 year old DS still chewing the neck of t-shirts. He pays for them now so I stopped caring.

I never succeeded in stopping him.

At home he generally lived/lives in pants and/or pj bottoms and that was really what saved most of his clothes - he just wasn't wearing them!

I tried the chew necklace, chewy fiddle toys, spraying on something that wouldn't taste nice.

I did notice that chewing was an indicator of anxiety levels. So if I managed to keep home life as calm and regulated as I could, then the chewing was less.

Look at taggies too

Are his chewy necklaces the rubber ones? You can get fabric ones which he might prefer.

We use these or fabric bibs for our 8 year old as he prefers to chew on fabric. We have just found sensory stim shop who have lots of different designs made out of t shirt fabric which he likes www.sensorystimshop.co.uk/product-page/t-shirt-fabric-chewlery-uniform-colours

My grandmother made me a mitt out of a flannel. She just folded it in half and sewed round, leaving one end open.

Something like a baby muslin on a clip might help?

Thanks for all the helpful advice! It’s definitely worse when he’s anxious but everything seems to make him anxious. At the moment it’s because we are in summer holidays so he isn’t in his usual routine. I will speak to the GP about getting referred back to occupational therapy and see if they can help