Biting

[Herecomestreble1]

Hi all,
Looking for some guidance/ advice for my son who is very nearly two and has been referred for an ASD assessment after displaying several traits and being developmentally delayed (not yet walking for example)

My son still explores many of his toys orally, and this transcends to other behaviors or reactions. For the last few months we have noticed he has a tendency to bite down when he is frustrated. This is usually a nearby toy but it can also be the floor, the door, his arm or something that is close to hand. I don't believe it's done in malice, he doesn't set out to harm and it looks as if he's simply overcome with the frustration, but I know we also need to try to teach some impulse control here to keep him and his peers safe. Thus far he has never bitten us or another person from frustration, but I appreciate that doesn't mean he never will.

Whilst he hasn't ever bitten from frustration, he has bitten me a handful of times. This is as far as I can tell usually a complete accident and caused by exploring hands/ exposed skin a bit too intensely and accidentally biting which I stop instantly by moving him physically with a short sharp "no".

Is this common, and if you have dealt with similar would you have any advice or best practice to deal with it? He's such a lovely and sweet little boy and I want to make sure I guide his behavior in a way that he understands.

This could be related to sensory needs. Has DS had a sensory OT assessment? Have you tried chewelry? You might find this booklet and this website helpful for sensory needs more generally.

If the biting is often linked to overwhelm, have you tried keeping a diary to spot triggers and try to prevent escalation?

When my son (now 6 and diagnosed as autistic) was that age he used biting a lot, both as sensory exploration and also when he became overwhelmed and frustrated… it remained his default frustration behaviour until he was about 5. At 2.5 most children just don’t have the brain capacity for impulse control so really it was up to us as his parents to manage and redirect. The things that helped most were:

Different kids of sensory chew toy (DS liked smooth others best so was good to try several)
constant close 1:1 attention around other children to block him if needed
getting a really good understanding of triggers and avoiding those
lots of ‘quitting while we were ahead’ eg only going to park or a party for 10 minutes, not staying until he became dysregulated
over time using strategies like zones of regulation to gradually support him to understand his own body and feelings (this is very much still a work in progress for us, but definitely developing all the time)