Son biting himself

[HugAndRoll]

Hi all. Ds1 has started biting himself, hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to break the skin. This is only on his arms.

He's done it both at home and at school and "doesn't want to talk about it". Has anyone got any advice? He's nearly 6 with hfa/aspergers.

So as not to drip feed he's always chewed but objects/clothing/chew buddy. He also frequently puts his fingers in his mouth and pulls his lower jaw down hard while resisting this motion with his jaw. Biting Himself to mark is a new thing.

They seem like a good idea. Love bites is what my ds' look like. I find it quite disturbing to be honest, I self harmed as a teen and I'm struggling to separate that from what he's doing.

I have a sensory seeking chewing HFA boy too and that was the first thing I thought when I saw your post :) if it's a sensory thing it's v. different to self harming. (It is something I used to do as a child too.) Does he have ready access to his chew toys?

thanks for the link btw Poltergoose I had that hug shirt recommended by an OT at the weekend, good to know where to get it from!

I do have sensory processing issues so it makes sense. Ds1 seeks proprioception which is why he chews. Would this make him bite himself too?

DS2 (7, AS) does this too - and often has 'love bites' on his upper arms. He usually chews his clothes in the upper arm regions (his school sweatshirts are 'holey' to say the least!) but when his arms aren't covered e.g. in the bath or when he strips off his pj top in bed as he's hot that's when the self-biting starts... When I tell him not to bite himself he covers his ears and says his stock-phrase 'end of conversation'. I mentioned it to his OT and she said it was sensory seeking and that she could give me some exercises for his face muscles/need to chew. That reminds me - need to chase her up...

Doesn't look great on his arms though...

WW x

Thank you. I will mention it to his OT on Friday.