3 year old sensory seeking or just self soothing?

[GinFizz3489]

My 3 year old is always chewing on his hands or sucking his fingers when he is watching tv or tired, he will put toys in his mouth, and chew on his clothing. He once found a doorstop while we were out and stuck that into his mouth too.
This mainly happens when he is tired or distracted however it is becoming more frequent. I ordered him a piece of chewllry to try and stop him chewing on his fingers and clothing.

He also sits with his hands down his pants fiddling with his bits 🫣! Again mainly when he is tired or distracted.

I mentioned to my health visitor I worried about ASD, not just because of this but a few other things (issues with food and sleep and some odd quirks he has)

Would anyone class what he is doing as sensory seekingor is it purely self soothing and comforting?

My HV said she doesn't see any other traits of ASD i.e he is meeting his milestone, is sociable, has good eye contact and communication.

In just worried in missing something as I thought the chewing and oral fixation pretty much stopped around 2.

Hands down the pants isn’t unusual.
Sucking things, well kids suck their thumb/finger a lot older than 2, and I remember sucking my hair when I was school age. Mum cut it off to stop me!

I'm not a clinician but think if other mile stones are okay it could be a billion different things.

Sensory seeking behaviour isn't just limited to autism. And autism is often diagnosed quite a bit later if other milestones are being reached ("watchful waiting" to see how life pans out).

I'd go with it though and go with cheweie toys and crunchy veg etc to get the feedback they're seeking.

How is eating behaviour generally? Although a lot can change after 3!

Have you thought about dental pain too? Have they seen a dentist?

Also dribbling? One of mine had big adenoids/tonsils and dribbled constantly which left to lots of mouth stuff going on for them.

So I'd go with whatever function it is doing for them and provide alternatives that are okay to chew.

It could be a stage they're going through, it could be sensory for whatever reason. And if it does long term turn out to be autism it won't change your lovely son. He will still be him:)

@GettingBetter2024 thank you for this.

Eating isn't great which is why HV is involved. He stopped eating meat and pretty much any protein around 9 months ago and his diet is quite limited. I don't think it's a texture thing he will eat very random foods.
Typically he is eating

• cereal, toast (with butter or jam), yogurt or berries for breakfast
• breadsticks, hummus, cucumber, crackers, cheese, apple, sandwich for lunch
• pasta (recently will have sauce), garlic bread, occasionally pizza, noodles for dinner.

He eats odd things like limes, spicy crisps etc.

Yes we did discuss dental pain- although hv said it could be second molars coming in?! But my son has all his teeth and has done for a while. We have the dentist in a week so I will double check there is no pain. My son has always had regular 6 monthly check ups

Funnily enough he has been referred to ENT as HV suspects he might have enlarged adenoids/tonsils due to his poor sleeping and constant blocked nose.

Thank you for your feedback!

@DustyLee123 I thought so much! Typical man 🤣

Ah sounds like a few things to look at...

My youngest slept SO much better after her op it was lifechanging for me as well as for her 😂.

My eldest (diagnosed autistic) ate everything and anything when small and was sensory seeking with strong tastes such as olives and ginger....

My youngest (not yet diagnosed but...) has all the typical restrictive eating and not liking food touching but actually it wasn't so obvious when small as we had picky plates (gosh I hate that term but can't think of a different one at this time in the morning) a lot which worked for her. Do you know all the stuff around not forcing/rewarding different eating behaviours, always offering safe food, having other food available to touch/play with/taste if they want etc to take the anxiety out of it?

I'm not sure it was obvious mine were autistic when small. I know for some children it is though but even when older I spent a couple of years worrying are they/are they not and don't let that become the overriding "worry" as you will still need to parent and be responsive to the child you have regardless (I know it's easy to say "don't worry"!).

We also encouraged looking at food over a week rather than a meal so being okay with random meals if that's what they're eating (just egg and cheese... another time toast and veg etc) And being okay with odd food combinations.

Sorry I realise I'm in "share lots of ideas mode" so ignore anything unhelpful !

@GettingBetter2024 no thank you this is all very helpful!