Many children with autism put objects in their mouths, such as pencils or toys, and chew on them as a form of self-stimulatory behaviour. Another habit is sucking shirt sleeves or biting clothes. Although this compulsion may not be particularly dangerous, it leads to dirty tops and soggy cuffs!
Children on spectrum continue to do this even when they enter their teens. Here are some responses from parents and caregivers themselves, about what their perceptions are and how they manage this habit in their children.
- Mine is 10.5 years old and he is still ruining all his clothes and blankets.
2. My 18-year-old still does… He has no strings left on basketball shorts or sweatshirts.
3. My son does this absentmindedly, while watching TV or what not. But when he is busy, he does not.
4. Mine chews on the end of his blanket when anxious.
5. He does it more when his anxiety is high, or he is zoned out. Realized that it is totally related to his anxiety and is not uncommon for ADHD kids.
6. It is a nervous coping mechanism… They call it an ‘oral fixation’.
7. On a lighter side – it is a great replacement for brushing teeth, which he hates.
8. Mine did when he was little. He grew out of it as he grew up.
9. He is 15 years old and has just stopped gnawing the collars off all his shirts!! I had tried many things, and finally stopped on his own!
10. Mine chewed on her stuff until she started medicines.
11. My son used to do this, but regular Epsom salt bath seem to have helped. This could have just been low magnesium.
12. Has anyone tried Zinc supplements? That helped mine.
13. Mine stopped at 14 years when I changed his clothes to ‘dry fit’ material.
14 We ended up buying cheap t-shirts and made him wear the ones he already chewed on, at home.
15. Try chewable jewellery. Gives him an alternative to chew on. Really helped!
16. Get chew stick. I cannot stress it enough how I see his anxiety going down. Now, there is less chewing on his shirts. These are indestructible rubber items for kids to chew on.
17. Give them ‘sensory shark tooth necklace’ to chew on. It is available online.
18. I gave him a rag to chew on.
19. I take the ruined t-shirts, cut them into strips and stretch out the strips, then braid them and make chew necklaces. Each t-shirt can make up to 4 necklaces depending on how thick your strips are cut. My son does not like the silicon chewies because he craves the texture of his shirts. Braiding the ruined shirts gives him the texture he craves and saves the shirts that are still good.
20. Have his iron checked. I read somewhere that it could be related to iron deficiency… I started giving him a multi vitamin with iron, and he did stop the habit.
21. My son is nearly 12. So far, he has refused any alternative to chew on.
22. Necklaces do not work for him.
23. Mine chewed on everything too, shirts, Legos but he grew out of it and is 15 now! So, hang in there!
Monica (Managing Editor) is the quintessential researcher - she thrives on showcasing overlooked aspects that form the foundation blocks of people, places and issues. She is a social scientist by profession with masters in Economics and loves to travel.