tools to stop children from "mouthing" | ADHD Information

my son did this for about 6 months then he stopped.  I couldn't get him away from doing this.  I didn't know what caused him to do this...

We're told that it's a sensory motor thing.  The chewing is something he does in order to gain order in his thinking.  It's similar to people chewing on pencils, doodling, clicking pens, etc. 

We're also told that he should grow out of it or more likely move to a "grown up" version--similar to the examples above.  However, it's been almost a year now and within the last 3 months it's been really bad.  We have thrown away so many shirts due to holes it's not even funny.

Sugar free gum!

I buy it by the case ;-)

We don't have the "no gum in school" problem (homeschoolers), but I do know an online place you can get chewies for kids ... I especially like the ones on the ends of pencils, since they don't look like dog toys or something!!

It's called Abilitations:

http://www.abilitations.com/

I find it's easiest to order from their print catalog; they'll send it to you if you request one.

They also have exercise balls, and all manner of OT products

Have you spoken to his teacher yet?  My son doesn't have the issue you are talking about but we have tried some "sensory" things during class to help him focus such as a piece of velcro under his desk for him to rub his fingers on etc.  I was suprised that the vice principal brought up gum..she said making an exception was no problem.  Have you asked?  I would think he would only need it during work time in class so the others shouldn't be paying much attention to him anyway.  Then he can spit it out before he goes to recess, lunch etc.  Only use it during "work" periods where he needs his concentration.

 

 

my son 9, also chews everything. The gum does help at home but I have never heard of a chew thing from OT would be interestedHi-

My son was recently diagnosed with having ADHD. One of the issues he has
is that he mouths his shirts. Someone suggested that we give him chewing
gum. We do this at home and it works great, but they don't allow it at
school. I know that there are some Occupational therapy tools that would
help--a rubber tube in the shape of a "T" that you can wear around your
neck--but I don't know where I can buy a few. Does anyone know a good
resource?

ThanksMy son did this all the time. He sucked on the neckline and destroyed many shirts. It was so hard to keep him dressed up for church, or school picture day! He also liked to put his hands inside his shirt (which made it very hard for him to play soccer).

I don't have a solution. Sorry, I know that's what your looking for. The only thing that helped our son to stop was giving him time to grow out of it. Maybe also finding the right kind of medication helped our son too? I really don't know. I think it was a tic that the stimulants caused.Is it a tic?