5 yo son licks things

[spitty]

hello,

my little boy (5) constantly licks things. Windows, doors, the ground, my sleeves, his clothes, other people, the dog, walls...just about everything. He does this many many times a day. When he first started doing this a couple of months ago (or when it became very apparent) I asked him to stop, told him it could make him ill etc, but he still carried on. Then the other night he said he can't stop doing it, it's his brain that makes him do it even though he doesn't want to.

Aside from the licking, he also bites things, clears his throat an awful lot, rarely sleeps, taps his shoulders, licks his hands, touches things all the time, insists I stroke away "hurts" over a hundred times a day, is very hyper, oh so many little quirky things about him really.

He's very good at school, top of the class in most things apart from his written work as his letter formation is poor. His teachers have noticed the licking thing too though...

Anyway, i took him to my gp yesterday and he is being referred on to a paediatrician. e seemed most concerned about the licking above all the other things.
Does anyone here have any idea what I might be dealing with here? I have 4 other older children and none of them have had anything like this going on at all.

Thanks for reading x

hello! (spitty is a dear friend of mine). I'll just add that she has been concerned about sleep and other behaviour such as tantrums for a few years now, the licking/throat clearing is a new development. His language and social skills are pretty good.

book about sensory issues:-
www.amazon.co.uk/Sync-Child-Carol-Stock-Kranowitz/dp/0399531653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=12382 62583&sr=8-1

chewy tubes:-

shop.ebay.co.uk/items/__chewy+tubes_W0QQ_dmdZ2?crlp=1097267317_228459_228460&UA=M*F%3F&GUID=f755a1f8 11d0a0aad471f681fda83d4d&keyword=chewy+tubes&MT_ID=10&agid=466213837

Thanks totalchaos

Not licking, but throat clearing was dx as a mild form of Turrets in my 6yo son. He did it for about 18 months and then just stopped - a developmental thing

Does he do this in school? If so, what do his teachers say? (not that they are qualified mind, but just wondered if he was doing it in more than one setting).

His teachers have noticed the licking thing but haven't mentioned the throat clearing as yet. They know he was seeing the gp yesterday and have asked me to let them know how his appt went, so I might ask them if they've noticed anything other than the licking at school.

Thanks for your reply.

The book TotalChaos mentioned is a great place to start. Ds1 has Sensory Processing Disorder and licking was a problem for us as well. As we have done different types of sensory therapy with him it has improved. Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder by Lucy Jane Miller is another good book.

Ds1 also had some major problems sleeping until this year. We have worked really hard to get him into a routine and that has helped quite a bit.

Oh, and ds1 also has had some issues with his fine motor control. His handwriting is pretty good but his teachers always get focused on his awkward pencil grip.

Hi! Ds also compulsively licks things, (he is 9) touching, stroking, shrugs his shoulders and throat clears. He goes through phases where throat (or one of the other things) clearing is more dominant. He already has Dxs of LD, ASD and ADHD, but the school paed mentioned 'ticks' (Tourettes?). We are starting OT sensory therapy. We hope to reduce his sensory seeking behaviours and have been given a list of things to do! Perhaps asking for OT assessessment might be helpful?

I have no knowledge of sensory Processing Disorder or LD (I don't even know what it stands for) but am off to google. Thanks for sharing with me, and it's good to know I'm not alone in having a child that licks things.

ld means learning difficulties

Oooops, spelt 'Turrets' as in a large thing on top of a castle - my kids got no chance !! Meant Tourettes, of course .....

weeeell, I just googled, and soon realised that LD stood for learning difficulties. I don't think Tom has this. And SPD, well, a few of the boxes could be ticked i think, especially the liking strong flavours (he likes sucking lemons) and the running around and liking being stroked... but when I read through the check list I didn't get any "eureka" type feelings. The tourettes thing sounds like a possibility, and also the OCD.

I guess I shall really have to wait and see what the paed says.

My ds2 has ASD and possibly dyspraxia, and he licks everything, even the slides in the soft play and park , I was told it was part of ASD and is definitely a sensory thing.

Good luck with the Paed.

my ds licks chews every thing was in wh smiths today stood at till when he was licking the box on counter! he as aspergers his pead also thought ds could have toureetts but he anit got it just AS

Hi Spitty

My son is the same with licking and chewing. In fact that was the first unusual thing I noticed last year when he was 5 too. He is also doing well in school.

Since then, his problems with sensitivity to smells and taste have got stronger as have his tactile sensitivity (he is very touchy about labels, socks and shoes). He's also overemotional about everything- goes from 0-10 in a flash!

We saw a paed last week who has referred us for occupational therapy and other help (he is also hypermobile/hypotonic).

Anyway, we have no formal diagnosis but he may have Aspergers Syndrome. The GP initially thought he might be dyspraxic.

What I have learnt through this experience, through talking to teachers and on this site and through reading is that lots of children exhibit sensitivities in these ways. It can be nothing, a quirk or liking of their own, or it can be a sign of one or all of the overlapping disorders (ASD/AS/Dyspraxia etc). The paediatrician last week told me that there is an increasingly large group of children who exhibit signs of something and that diagnosing and knowing what to do about it is difficult - she had apparently been to some big conference in London the day before where they had discussed just this.

So don't worry too much at the moment. It may be nothing but if it is a sign of something then seeing the paediatrician is a way of getting help to make his life easier and the earlier this is done the better and not a way of putting limits on it!

Good luck and keep us posted xx

Spitty , sorry should have said my son has learning disabilty which with all the other things makes it harder to know what causes what IYSWIM! Your son is obviously academically able! The throat clearing started about age 5. He was a prolific chewer before that and the licking got more obvious at around 6.

Hello
Does any body have a child with Septo-optic dysplasia and/or Tourette?s?
I am new to this but I have already found your post so helpful. I saw a book on this site that I thought might get me nearer to helping me understand my 8 year old son it is called "The Out-Of-Sync Child"
by Carol Stock Kranowitz. I have sent for it from Amazon so will feed back what I thought of it.
Thanks everyone
Boojess

Boojess you may want to start your own thread with the condition in the title. God luck

Oh this is happening on Friday and I'm scared!! (I changed my name btw...I use spitty on a few other forums so wanted something different for on here).

I thought my son was all alone in the licking thing, but seems he's not. It's kind of reassuring to know he's not the only one who does this. Anyway, his licking has become far less frequent of late (although still does it daily) ... his latest thing is to shout this high pitch Whoo sound and to make owl noises and whistle. I much prefer these to the licking which makes me cringe (i'm emetophobic and worry about him getting ill).

I've heard other people mention that book Boojess...let me know how you find it please? I might buy it for myself. I have to admit to never having heard of septo-optic dysplasia, sorry.

Thanks ICANDOTHAT for your advice I have now started a new thread

right - yep it's scary coz on the one hand you don't want them to imply you're a neurotic nutter and there's nowt wrong with your kid but on the other hand you don't want them to agree there's owt wrong with your child - it's a real mixed feelings scenario. do you want me to give you a call later today? am off for a public meeting to give feedback about DS's paed clinic appointment last year, a good old moan to the powers that be should be therapeutic and hopefully improve things for other parents to come.

Feel free to give me a ring whenever totalchaos...thanks

That meeting sounds very interesting.Good luck with it xx