My 4 year old boy, mouthing & the road ahead... (autism, Asperger, treatment)
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Hi,
My son is on the severe end of the spectrum. He is non-verbal, and we tried sign lang for a while but he only learnt 5 signs so now we are trying the Ipad. He has a difficult case of SPD, difficult in the sense that OT cannot address it. He mouthes and chews and bites on everything we give him, including all wooden furniture. So when we ask him to put a puzzle piece in, he'll want to put in his mouth first. He has been in ABA since he was 2, making some progress, incremental but progress nevertheless. His fine motor, low muscle tone and mouthing makes progress slower.
I live in the Austin area,round rock. I have heard of several OT but I do worry if my son's case is too hard to figure out. I really wonder if anyone have had a child with similar issues like his. We have bought hundreds worth of chewy tubes as he bites hard on it and they break! Im also not very comfortable seeing him with a chew tube when he is 10.
My husband and I always felt like there was a missing piece to the puzzle, something we overlooked. All medical tests are normal, we also do biomed(neurosensory center) but no changes. We have long accepted the autism diagnosis, we love him unconditionally but we wonder what the road ahead brings. Any of you who have kids who are now aged 10 and older diagnosed with mod-severe autism when they were younger, I would really appreciate any input.
I am not a parent but a retired special education teacher who now substitute teaches at all grade levels.
There are quite a few different types of chewy tubes & toys that are extremely sturdy. Perhaps one of his teachers can look for something in OT catalogs that is harder to chew apart. You could also try looking in stores for very sturdy hard rubber teething rings for infants. You son may need the hard sensation rather than a "squeezy, chewy sensation". It is possible that if he gets enough of the hard sensation he will need it a little less. But don't be surprised if he keeps putting things in his mouth---he is just curious, "Will this one be just the right texture?". "Maybe the next one willbe my favorite?". Think of it like enjoying a big box of chocolates, "Wow, this one was great! Maybe the next one will be even better!"
Your son may or may not continue to need a "chew toy" at age 10. But it is not something to worry about. Although it isn't common, it certainly is not unusual to see children in both regular and special education classes with some type of chew necklace or chew tube. And, don't forget about all the children and adults who chew their pencils & pens or chew gum all the time. Most of them are trying to satify a need to chew.
Hi there, I live not to far from you in Leander. My kiddo has aspergers and a few years older at 12 but as a kid he was always putting stuff in the mouth and he still does to this day. Not as much but still does esp. when stressed from school. We also go see Dr. Stewart and Taylor and have been doing that for 5 yrs. keep with it as they have had some great results from what I have heard and they did truly help us. How long have you been seeing them? Sometimes it takes a long while. Have you gone to HALO? Heard some great things with them. I know several friends that have mod-severe kiddos and sometimes there are really high times and really low times. RRISD has a great parent support group from what I hear so you might go ahead and get involved with that even at 4. They have a great resource center also. DM me is you need to chat or need more info.
I'd also recommend the book, The Out of Sync Child, which has some great ideas for things you can do at home and it addresses the different areas your child might need such as movement, fine motor, etc. I don't remember what it had for chewing so you may want to look at the book in a bookstore or library before buying it. It's really good though. Good luck.
Also look into the Texas parent 2 parent network and they will be able to hook you up with another parent that has been through what you are going thru. Texas Parent to Parent - Home
I'm in the Houston area and I agree that you should get the book The Out-of-Sync Child and also get The Out-of-Sync Child has fun. Find an OT who specializes in sensory disorder (we have a great one here and I am sure there are others). My grandson would mostly chew on his shirts and none of the chewy toys worked for him, but he has outgrown it at 7 (almost 8) so there is hope that your child will eventually give up the chewing.
Is his ABA discrete trials or VB or NET. That can make a big difference in progress as well as the particular style of ABA has to fit your child. I found that VB worked best for my grandson although he started with discrete trials for behavioral compliance.
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