All You Must Know

“Joey, the place’s your chewy?” That’s a query that has been mentioned extra instances than I can rely in my very own home. My youngest son typically seeks oral stimulation for his sensory wants. He is without doubt one of the many autistic youngsters to expertise oral fixation.

It might be simple to acknowledge oral fixation amongst youngsters with autism spectrum dysfunction, however what will we do to handle these behaviors? And what can we do to ensure oral fixation doesn’t result in destructive penalties for our kids in later life?

What’s oral fixation?

In its easiest phrases, oral fixation is a repetitive conduct linked to the mouth. Oral fixation can typically be a coping mechanism for autistic youngsters to cope with sensory processing difficulties.

It’s essential to notice that any individual experiencing oral fixation could also be wanting sensory must be met and every conduct may meet a distinct want for every particular person.

There are a number of potential examples of oral fixation, together with biting, chewing, sucking, or consuming spicy meals.

Biting

Biting is a typical oral fixation conduct typically seen in people with autism spectrum dysfunction, sometimes as a strategy to search oral sensory enter.

My son, Joey, would typically chunk when he was youthful. At any time when he would search sensory enter for his mouth, he would chunk different folks or himself.

We couldn’t permit this because it was bringing hurt to himself and others. So, we diverted his consideration to vary his oral fixation conduct.

Chewing

We have been capable of transition his biting conduct to a chewing conduct. We bought chew toys and even reintroduced a pacifier for him to chew on.

It wasn’t a really perfect transfer as a result of chewing oral fixation can result in dental issues, however we had to make sure he wasn’t biting himself or others.

My older son, Jeremy, has additionally demonstrated chewing oral fixation behaviors. He typically bites pencils, erasers, and even the torn edges of pocket book paper. Basically, he chews on any non-food objects he can put in his mouth. 

Sucking

Sucking is one other widespread oral fixation conduct in autistic youngsters, the place they typically place objects of their mouths to satisfy sensory wants.

For my son, this implies persevering with to make use of a pacifier even at 9 years outdated. Different youngsters might suck their thumbs or fingers to fulfill comparable sensory cravings.

Consuming spicy meals

In case your youngster is hyposensitive to oral wants, they might eat spicy meals as a part of their fixation. Many youngsters might require the oral sensory stimulation supplied by spicy meals. My son, Joey, continuously eats sizzling and spicy meals like “flaming sizzling” chips.

Once we go to a rooster wing restaurant, he can deal with the spiciest wing sauce. He clearly wants the extraordinary taste for sensory enter.

Is oral fixation an indication of autism?

The necessity for oral stimulation generally is a signal of autism spectrum dysfunction. That doesn’t imply everybody who demonstrates a necessity for oral fixation is on the autism spectrum.

Nonetheless, should you discover a development of oral stimulation in youthful youngsters, it might be time to contemplate in search of an autism prognosis.

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Oral fixation can be linked to a couple different problems, together with anxiousness, sensory processing problems, and even consideration deficit hyperactivity dysfunction (ADHD).

It’s essential to debate together with your youngster’s physician in the event that they suppose it’s autism or one of many different problems that show oral fixation behaviors.

Causes of oral fixation in autism

A sensory processing dysfunction can typically trigger oral stimming, but it surely can be a coping mechanism. Many youngsters develop oral fixations as a means to deal with disturbing conditions, overwhelming environments, or sensory overload.

The fixed want for stimulation involving the mouth might be a sensory-seeking conduct whereas fighting sensory processing. Oral fixation may also function a self-regulation method when experiencing sensory overload.

Unfavorable results of oral fixation

Oral fixation, like another conduct, can have destructive impacts on an individual’s life if not correctly managed. As talked about earlier, biting can result in the autistic individual or another person experiencing hurt.

Extreme chewing can result in dental issues as tooth might be broken and require costly procedures, like braces, to repair them.

Whereas chew toys or a chewable necklace could also be short-term choice, there are additionally chewy snacks designed to handle chewing conduct and oral fixation.

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Oral stimming can pose dangers, similar to choking if an object is unintentionally swallowed. Chewing on clothes can result in moist materials, which can trigger pores and skin irritation. 

On high of bodily results, oral fixation may also result in autistic people not being socially accepted. This will result in resentful feelings that may have a destructive affect on psychological well being.

handle oral fixation

There are wholesome methods to handle oral stimming to make sure security and shield the individual’s well being. This consists of cleansing any chew toys to make sure germs aren’t on them.

In case your youngster chews every part like my son did, encourage them to chew gum as an alternative. That means, they’ll have one thing that’s meant to be chewed of their mouths as an alternative of simply any object.

Chewy or crunchy snacks, together with these which may be spicy or bitter, can tackle the necessity for oral stimulation whereas guaranteeing they’re consuming precise meals. All the time having a straw available can help oral fixation with regards to drinks.

Do not forget that in search of skilled assistance is an choice if it reaches that time.

Remedy may also help tackle oral fixation points by instructing methods to redirect your youngster from dangerous sensory-seeking behaviors to more healthy alternate options.

Keep in mind empathy and sensible options

I’ve been there. Oral fixation behaviors might be among the most disturbing conditions for a lot of dad and mom. As their youngsters hunt down stimulation from objects that we’d by no means take into account placing in our personal mouths, it’s essential to recollect they’re simply in search of a strategy to tackle oral sensory wants.

It’s essential to method them with empathy and acknowledge they want sensory regulation. Nonetheless, it’s as much as us as dad and mom to guard our kids, so we should acknowledge when their behaviors are secure and when they’re probably harmful.

There’s nothing inherently mistaken with oral fixation in autistic youngsters. It’s simply as much as us as dad and mom to information them to the correct oral sensory regulation.

FAQs

Q: How do you cease oral fixation in autism?

A: Mother and father shouldn’t cease oral fixation by itself. Nonetheless, they need to tackle probably harmful behaviors. Mother and father may also help their autistic family members handle oral fixation behaviors by figuring out triggers and offering secure alternate options.

Q: What are the oral indicators of autism?

A: There are a number of oral indicators of autism spectrum dysfunction, together with oral fixation, self-injury, pica, tongue thrusting, poor oral hygiene, mouth respiration, and accidents to tooth.

Q: Are you able to repair an oral fixation?

A: A destructive oral fixation might be “mounted” with remedies like therapies. Mother and father may swap out a destructive conduct with a optimistic one. The kid will nonetheless search oral stimulation, however the destructive conduct can be “mounted.”

Q: What triggers oral fixation?

A: There are numerous potential triggers for oral fixation, together with stress, anxiousness, sensory processing dysfunction, distracting ideas, unmet wants, and overwhelming sensory enter.