Thumb sucking/Autism

[CarrotVan]

My youngest is 9 and still sucks his thumb and it’s really starting to affect his speech and jaw development. He is autistic and there’s likely a sensory element.

His older brother sucked his thumb (also autistic) at night/when tired but stopped after using t-guard thumb protectors

we’ve used them with DS2 and they’ve helped for a while but he regresses quickly. We’ve also tried thumb protector gloves, various different nail varnishes etc but nothing works for long

he is super bright with great vocab but often appears younger due to his speech and thumb sucking, and the speech issues make him hard to understand which means he gets frustrated (his dad and Nana have hearing deficits and struggle to understand him, as do other people who don’t know him well)

what else can we try?

Any luck with offering him a range of soft chewellery?

We’ve not tried that - similar to teething beads? We have tried fidget toys to keep his hands busy and away from his mouth but with limited success

his Dad (also autistic) is reluctant to provide a substitute and wants to break the habit

Similar principle to teething yes, it's tricky if it's a sensory behaviour then offering some similar substitute tends to be the suggestion for the best thing to do.
If they were to not have a replacement it d be whether they turn to something else that's also not ideal, like when they say only stop harmful stimming so it doesn't cause other issues to develop.

Has DS had a sensory OT assessment?

There are lots of different types of chewelry with different textures and firmness. Others have success with providing other sensory input orally e.g. crunchy food, an electric toothbrush with strong smelling toothpaste helps, vibrating sensory toys.

He’s not had much therapeutic input at all. His diagnosis was private because I have private healthcare through work, and it didn’t include follow up support. He isn’t so affected that he has an EHCP and he doesn’t suck his thumb at school any more so they don’t care

Not all ICBs commission sensory OT on the NHS anymore, but if you area does, it is worth a referral. Or looking at an independent sensory OT assessment if you can afford it.