Children with autism have difficulty in regulating their sensory experiences. They can have hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to various sensations. Excessive chewing is an example of sensory hyposensitivity. These children chew, not because they want to destroy clothing, or other objects, but because they may like or need the sensation that they get by chewing. Thus, when we try to help a child with this problem, we need to tackle the root of the problem, which is sensory in nature.
Carson has several different chew tubes he uses. Each is a different texture. He has one that attaches to his clothes that is retractable. He has another long bumpy one that clips onto a zipper. He has two that vibrate, a elephant and a gator. They are called fiddle jigglers. The pictures below are ones he has. They are great and have reduced his chewing significantly!
I am learning so much from you and Carson! Thank you for sharing his life with us.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for reading and being interested :)
DeleteI love it...I am thinking (if it's okay w/you) giving the link to some co workers b/c it's really helpful to get the inside scoop, to know what works and for families whose kid get the diagnosis, to know that they're not alone and it can be OKAY! :-) Let me know what you think...xoxo
ReplyDeleteYes absolutely!!! That would be great! I am always wanting to help families and answer questions about autism
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