“When I’m chewing I feel calm and better able to focus.”
First of all, there is nothing wrong with your child if they are a very young baby or toddler and putting objects into their mouths and chewing as this is a very necessary part of the oral phase of child development.
However it is common for children young people and adults with Autism or Sensory Processing Disorder to be compelled to chew! This oral sensory input can have a strangely calming effect, alleviating symptoms of anxiety.
I have my own oral self-stimulatory behaviours which I will share with you first and then I will talk about the types of oral behaviours Trinity often has.
I have got a lot out of crunchy food experiences, (‘there’s nothing unusual about that,’ I hear you say) so when does a love of all things crunchy and chewy become something a bit more than the sheer bliss of it! For me it’s why I’m doing it that’s important and what I get out of it! For example everyday on the way to work I chew gum, I have a gum holder on my dashboard and it is as important to me as having my seatbelt on!
Okay, I know it sounds a little crazy but I have a lot of anxiety on the way to work, and whilst driving anywhere. So the first thing I do when I sit in my car is pop open the pot of gum and put not one, but two in my mouth and chew my way into a state of calm!
If I run out and don’t have it I feel like my stomach is in knots, I literally feel tense and have to employ other breathing techniques to relax my body. Trust me chewing two sticks of gum is better than chewing my finger nails down or pulling out strands of hair from my head! When I’m chewing I feel calm and better able to focus. So I have found a way to self-regulate and it works for me!
Trinity on the other hand has a really intensive and compulsive drive to chew and gain that oral sensory feedback almost continually throughout her entire day! Well what’s wrong with that if it helps to calm her down?
Excessive chewing of toys and other items in public can be an issue and it has often caused some interesting stares whilst out and about in public! It can be seen as a socially inappropriate behaviour, which became much more obviously out of the ordinary as our little Trinity had passed the age of about 4 years.
Part of me wanted to scream out, our daughters Autistic and needs this chew toy to calm her down! Thankfully we were able to control our sometimes overwhelming compulsion to set the staring population straight!
It’s been so tough at times and sometimes the response we’ve had in public to Trinity’s chewing has made us feel like never going out in public again!
These days we have grown accustomed to the stares and try much harder to focus on making the short window of time that we venture out into public as enjoyable as possible.
We have learnt to always arm ourselves with Trinity’s best anxiety super star tool kit, her sensory chew toys and to offer them to her in advance of arrival at the local café or restaurant!
To understand more about what makes children, young people and adults want to chew and put things into their mouths check out this advice from a qualified Speech and Language therapist: https://www.arktherapeutic.com/blog/10-tips-for-kids-who-need-to-chew-an-oral-sensory-diet/
Trinity also chews stones and other objects, puts mud and sand into her mouth and other non- edible items. She will also swallow these. Trinity has PICA and because of this, needs careful supervision to prevent her from choking and damaging herself internally. This can be so tough to cope with as it’s a huge worry and makes it difficult to visit with family and friends.
For more information about PICA click on the link below:
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/other/pica
Our house is a very cleansed environment and lots of items are placed in lockable cabinets to keep Trinity safe and us sane!
Embracing-Autism 