4 year old chewing her sleeves.

[Moomoomie]

Was wondering if anybody has any help and advice.
My 4 year old adopted dd has Foetal Alcohol Affects and is heading towards an ADHD diagnosis too.
One of her problems is, she constantly chews her sleeves, so much so, she has made her face sore.
If she wears short sleeves, she will chew her fingers.
At home it is not too bad, as I give her other things to chew, but at school I think it is constant.
At the Nativity last week, she had her hands in her mouth the whole time. I know part of this was down to nerves.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.

Some chew toys would help a lot - there's something about wet cloth that makes for chapped faces.

Do you think the school would let her have a chew toy at school? They have been very good with her so far, so I will probably ask.
Although the teachers took dd2's blu tack of her that I had given her to fiddle with..... She has ADHD.

My NT 5 year old chews his sleeves. His teacher said that her boys did the same at that age and she thought it was something to do with their adult teeth shifting around. Makes sense as babies go through a chewy stage before their milk teeth come through. Just a thought. I do have 2 SN children as well, just so you know I'm not gatecrashing .

What about chewellery you can get bracelets and necklaces that may help, sorry can't link to it as on phone but google will bring it up

I would say its sensory seeking. My dd2 (HFA) chews but not as badly as i did as a child, i can remember my mum pulling her hair out over me chewing my school clothes , i still chew now (but in private).

Dd2 has a chewey tube which i got off e-bay, she also has the chewey necklace, theres now lots of chewey things on Amazon.

chewey sticks

chewey charms

pencil toppers

chewey tubes

Dd3 used to chew her buttons on her cardigan, she chewed several right off.

Now she wears sweatshirts and chews the collar of her polo shirt.

Am watching with interest.

Thank you all for the replies.
Think I will talk to her teacher and order something she can take to school with her.
I am sure as she gets older I will be back for more advice.

One genius idea I encountered recently was offering a chew-seeking child a toothbrush to chew. Hours of dental health pleasure :) (without toothpaste on, obviously)

If only cloth will do, try really old drying up clothes, and clothes peg to hold them on at the back of the neck. Then at least the clothes don't get completely destroyed.

You could try, chewigem chewy necklaces, www.chewigem.co.uk or www.sensorytoywarehouse.co.uk; my ds2 chewed his collars. cuffs, holes in everything from his teeth! x

my son used to chew his clothes, well he would chew anything, went to put petrol in the car one day and forgot to take his fiddle and chewy toy with him when i got in back the car he had took electrics out the door panels and internal lights and chewed them, (he was 11)