lip biting.

[mumto4_9432]

does anyone have any tips on how to stop my son biting the inside of his lips until they bleed please?hes doing it while angry.he has other self stim behaviours but this is the one I think we need to stop as soon as possible!

[mumto4_9432]

Hi I just wanted to thank you for the advice you gave me.my children are now all being assessed for asd & spd to name just a few :) xx

[mumto4_9432]

thankyou.i was looking over the symptoms again and noticed my 4 y/o had most of the symptoms at different times which confused me.lol

[specialmom]

Oh yes.  My son is a mixed bag.  He has tactile defensiveness and seeks at the same time/alternating.  Can be very confusing but it is what it is.  Kids can definately be over sensitive and undersenitive.

My son doesn't always react to pain and at other times over reacts.  

It's hard but the coping skills are the essential piece to working on this issue.

[mumto4_9432]

thankyou so much for your advice!is it possible for a child to be both hyper and hypo sensitive in the same area?

[specialmom]

In the mean time, try the gum dear.  Have some rules around it like where to spit when done and that he can't play with it with his hands----  but this is a life saver for us.  good luck

[mumto4_9432]

thankyou I've had a look and managed to find them on amazon.they are on the way so fingers crossed it works!! x

[mumto4_9432]

I've tried so many things with him.to be honest he gets so angry I don't think he even knows hes done/doing it until he calms down anything up to an hour later and that's only because he notices the blood! :-(

[londonchris59]

My little buy did the same thing for a while. We managed to control it buy building a reward system around it and use a lip moisturiser to repair the skin.

[specialmom]

I have used 'therapyshoppe'.  They have many oral items.  You might try a rubber p or q or t.  We've had those before.  good luck

[mumto4_9432]

is there a specific website you would recommend for these type of things please?

[specialmom]

Here is an example.  My son is now chewing pencils.  Yeesh.  He starts with the eraser and chews that off and then starts on the metal and into the wood.  It is almost involuntary and he has a hard time controlling it.  He was doing this during homework last night so I got our bag of colored straws out and handed him one.  He held the straw in one hand chewing it and his pencil in the other doing his homework.  Worked like a charm.  I'm going to get some tips for his pencils at school that they sell online at Occupational therapy shops.  But I do know that I can also offer him a piece of gum to do the same thing.  

So, just switch it to something better for him to chew and work on why he is having the anxiety in the first place.  good luck

[mumto4_9432]

thankyou!i will try this!

[specialmom]

Oh yes, now I recall your situation.  I would offer him things to self sooth with that you can live with such as the gum or straws.  It really does help.  

[mumto4_9432]

yes.i have finally got the school to agree to refer him for psych assessment and have been waiting for approx 7 months since referral to see the community pead!i have been told it could be another few months until he is seen and we could be looking at the end of the school year before we get a diagnosis of any sort if we even get one.i have spoken to you on a post further down the page.i have 3 sons who have difficulties and all 3 have sensory issues.all different types/degrees.

[specialmom]

Oh, that is rough.  Are you seeking any help for this??  I have a son with sensory issues and anxiety.  He does oral soothing and we work on it as well as working on his underlying sensory issues and anxiety.

Are you seeing anyone for anything related to this??  

[mumto4_9432]

He has quite a few.he is always biting, punching, pinching himself and pulling his own hair.he licks/***** his fingers/hand and bites his finger nails.hes just started bed wetting again and has been wetting/soiling himself in school.he is aggressive towards other people he feels comfortable with that are around him when he looses his temper as we'll.luckily this has only been family members/family friends and their children so far apart from one incident with his teacher.

[specialmom]

Hi there.  Oh, the poor guy.  He's trying to self soothe.  I'd offer him a piece of gum.  This creates oral soothing that he can switch to away from biting his cheek.  If it is at school, he can have something like a straw to chomp on or if the counselor or if he has an IEP, will allow, he can add gum to his day when upset.  

I'd also go to the root cause for why he is having to self soothe this way.  Does he show other signs of anxiety?