Toddlers/Children with autism/suspected autism - drooling

[Jsc12]

I have a 3 year old boy who is currently on the waiting list to be assessed for Autism. He has dribbled profusely since he’s been 6 months old and it has never stopped. I’m also currently waiting for health visitor/gp to refer for throat assessment.

I go through 15-20 bibs per day and even invested in high quality bibs which has worked to some extreme. My issue is the older he’s getting, the more I hate the look of bibs on him especially because of how big he looks, and I don’t like that he stands out being the only one in Nursery wearing a bib and with no signs of the drooling stopping, I’m unsure of options. It seems the only things you can buy are bibs for drooling and I was wondering if anyone would benefit from clothes being made to tailor to drooling.

so my questions are;

1. does your child profusely drool & if so, how old are they?
2. do you solely use bibs, or is there anything else you use?
3. for older children, would they benefit from clothing I.e tops/jumpers/dresses that are absorbent and fast drying so they don’t have to wear bibs during the day, but that also don’t soil through their clothes. I’m thinking of children at an older age of 5+ so they still feel like they fit in with the rest of the kids their age in some aspect.

Does he have any other issues like mouth breathing, snoring, hearing issues/unclear speech?

Drooling isn't related to autism per se; it's a sign of low oral muscle tone and can be linked to dyspraxia (verbal or motor). There are various things you can try around puffing, blowing, sucking; a speech therapist might help.

Article here with some ways to help:
https://ctspediatrics.com/treatment-areas/speech-language-pathology/oral-motor-disorders/#:~:text=A%20weak%20tongue%20makes%20it,associated%20with%20low%20muscle%20tone.

Yes he babbles a lot and have recently started saying one or two words but he’s currently under speech and language which hasn’t been helpful so far. He’s unaware he’s dribbling and doesn’t even try to wipe his chin

He also mouth breathes, is prone to colds & is delayed developmentally. No hearing issues and doesn’t often snore

If it's any comfort, my own son did this until 3 as well. It cleared up very very quickly - almost overnight- just as he mastered speaking. I used to put a bib under his t shirt for his own dignity. I could tell it was low oral time as, as well as the late speaking, he tended to sit with mouth open and tongue thrusting forward.

I would definitely push for an ent referral then as it can be due to enlarged adenoids.

In practical terms, a bandana would look more grown up than a bib but would perform the same function.

Yes my son does the exact same! His mouth is constantly open and even had a newborn he always slept with his mouth open. Thanks for the tip of putting a bib under his tshirt!

There is a child in my DD’s year aged 5 and she used soft towelling neck scarves/ snoods.
I think they are homemade, but the look very trendy.
Has you little boy seen a dentist?
A dentist that is good with children may be able to give you an overview on things.
Wishing you both all the best.

Hey, how's it going? did you get any answers/improvment?

Following with interest for updates too ☺️

No real updates, still lots of dribbling. I invested in pretty expensive bibs at £10 each to get him through nursery mostly which have a towelling layer inside and he roughly goes through around 4-5 a day whereas he was going through around 15-20 regular bibs as they just didn’t hold water well. I have a friend who works with children and adults in the NHS and has mentioned that there is a patch available that can reduce dribbling. I haven’t really looked into this as I do hope he can conquer this himself but it may be worth looking into or speaking to a gp about.

I’ve been told ENT can’t be requested until 4 or 5 years old. He’s still on the waiting list for neurodevelopment. We’ve been under speech and language for the last year and half but I’ve never found them useful if I’m completely honest. I’ve done so much of my own research that anything they’ve ever suggest I’ve already tried, or still do.

He’s 3 and a half now and he’s singing along to so many songs, he can count to 16 and can also count back from 10 down to 1 and he’s also copying words we say - he’s really coming along and it’s lovely to finally see. The main factors to him learning to say words is definitely YouTube (simple songs and miss Rachel). Up until he was a year and a half old he never use to play with toys, he just use to be a zombie watching cocomelon and didn’t interact with anything at all and would want to watch it for hours on end, but since switching to simple songs he’s happy to watch for a few minutes and then go off and play with toys but he’s still subconsciously listening as he often sings along to what’s playing. He’s very much still in his own world and things may always be that way but as long as he’s happy that’s all that matters.

For anyone in a similar boat to myself and has a child with additional needs, there will be brighter days ahead and also a lot of challenging ones. I’ve also learned that no matter how many health professionals you involve, even at such an early age as I did, nothing will truly change in a blind of an eye and sometimes we just have to take the time to accept that they are the way they are and they are perfect no matter what. I’ve given my son a break from speech and language therapy for the last 6 months because it was getting really overwhelming for him and us as a family having to record ourselves interacting with him and then having to play it back to the therapist and be criticised on what we could do better - we know our son best and we know when he wants us to be involved in play and when he wants alone time. We’ve had health professionals involved before he was even 1 years of age and honestly, since taking a step back for the first time in years, he has really made some huge improvements.

For anyone that mentioned taking him to the dentist, I took him for the first time 3 months ago and it was hell on earth. He screamed the entire time but for the few seconds they were able to look into his mouth, they didn’t visibility see any problems

@Jsc12 my son is almost 4.5 so a year older than yours he is still non verbal but no diagnosis we suspect DLD. He definitely has some oral issues going on which in turn makes him a picky eater . We are working on it but he’s very clever and social and happy and has good understanding . He did drool like that up until just after 3 then literally stopped over night I think he must of realised he was doing it.

Thank you. He only turned 3 a few months ago so I’m hoping soon it’ll stop! I think my son also has the same issues. He’s never been interested in food and he has never eaten a hot meal ever since he was 1 years old. He’s lived on milk, squash, pringles and dairylee dunkers for the last 2 years. Dietitian has been useless to us. He’s consistently gaining weight so they have no concerns

Could an Occupational Therapist help? Can you see if you can introduce higher resistance foods and drinking straws to strengthen the mouth muscles? x

@Jsc12 omg this is my son exactly to a T!!! I’ve actually decided now to fork out on a 1 to 1 6 week plan which I have the initial meeting tonight online with her and will probably start working with her in a few weeks . If you pm me Your number I can share with you any interesting ideas I get if they help !

He will only drink from a mam bottle, he won’t drink at all if we try introducing cups or straws. We leave cups and straws around so him to pick up and play with just chews on them. In fact he’s never worked out how to drink through a straw. He’s on waiting list for neurodevelopment and one accepted he will be referred to occupational therapy x

@ChillysWaterBottle I’ve asked my sons previous and current OT it’s not something either of them have much experience in . In my experience it’s something OT shy away from . His SALT does oral motor exercises and PROMPT with him to help but I still think I need a feeding therapist on board with experience in this , I’ve found one (I think )so will see what she says when I speak to her tonight. My son has OT for fine motor delays so Im assuming oral motor delays and fine motor come hand in hand.

@Jsc12 my son will only drink from a straw or if I put a water bottle to his mouth. He’s never wanted to use an open cup although he has done the very odd time in the past .

Following.

We've been using These bibs with success however my AD son is beginning to grow out of them as he approaches 3 years old.

Please keep us updated if you make dribble proof clothing, or know of anywhere that does.

Thank you x

My eldest daughter dribbled a lot and was diagnosed asd in January at age 14.

Youngest daughter is 21 months and never drooled at all!

I thought all babies drooled when teething.

@SazzleCee My son is exactly the same, he’s a tall boy for his age (god knows how because he still only eats Pringles) but he looks silly wearing bibs now especially if they have characters on as they’re clearly not made for his age and look too small. I’ve purchased a lot of fabric which are bacteria and waterproof after doing lots of research so I will let you know if they work and how we get on with them! The dribbling hasn't reduced in the slighted and his dietician said he has an immature jaw muscle and suggested chew toys but hes always chewed on toys so its nothing new to try. Over the last 4 months to my amaze he randomly started drinking from a cup and can even pour it himself now. Still no luck with straws and he won’t even go near a drink with one in. He's making lots of improvements and even singing along to songs a lot more. Will keep you posted with the bibs xx

@SwordToFlamethrower does your oldest daughter still drool?

I also now have a 14 month old daughter and she is the complete opposite of my son. She has never drooled, even when teething. It’s crazy how different two siblings can be!