ds biting himself

[Widemouthfrog]

When I was dressing DS this morning for school I noticed his wrists were red and bruised, and the skin was cracking. He saw me looking and told me he had been biting them. When I asked why he said he didn't know. He then added he just wanted to see if it hurt.

He has been so happy and relaxed, I am surprised that he is doing this now. I would have expected this if he was stressed. I have seen him bite his fingers when very overloaded.

Is this a new 'stim'. I am worried that he is hurting himself because he likes it. What can I do to stop him bearing in mind that I haven't even seen him doing it!

Is this familiar to anyone?

DS1 bites himself a lot. I could not work out what the bruises on his knees were until I walked in on him in bed one night and found him happily biting away.

I have not managed to stop it. Espcially the biting he does because he likes the sensation (biting from frustration easier to stop).

Yes indeed, if he was frustrated i could help the frustration, but I suspect he liked it. I'm not sure whether I should draw too much attention to it with him, as this could be counter-productive.

I have explained to school and they are going to keep a look out.

DS bites when he is frustrated or upset - he too bites his wrists. I havent been able to get him to stop but it has decreased as he has found hair pulling or hitting himself better He is only a toddler so its difficult to find out why and encourage him not to do it.

So I dont have any advice, but wanted you to know you are not alone.

When DS was younger he used to scratch his face until it bled. he stopped that because he is scared of blood

Actually that gives me an idea Fio. he likes wearing wristbands. Maybe if I asked if he could wear them in school it would stop him biting his wrists.

I'll second what Fio says about trying to give him something else that's safe to bite.

I'm an adult and I still bite myself at times, I'm dyspraxic, and often it is out of frustration but sometimes it is because I crave the sensation, the pressure.

It could be that he's seeking oral sensory experiences, in which case he's biting because he needs to feel the pressure on his teeth and jaws, or he could bite because he needs a sharp sensation or pressure on his wrists.
With me usually it's the former but it has been both at times.

I'd try the wristbands and as Fio suggested,give him something safe to bite, be it a beanbag or a piece of fabric.

If he feels the need for sensation around his wrist area the wristbands may help, and he could even ping them to get some sensation.

If he feels the need for oral sensation then the pressure of biting the beanbag or cloth may help.

I hope that makes some kind of sense.

DS has starting biting hand, nails, feet now. Might look at the wristbands and safe thing to bite. Thanks

Thanks for the advice, Thunderduck. he was biting the windowframes at school this morning as well - never really done this before. I might have to check to see if those front teeth are wobbly (he is nearly 6)