The Autism News

Taz Bradbury at 10:35am July 8
dunno but my son is goin through bitin his arm faze he covered in bruses n e one have n e ideas how to stop this? add me xx

Nancy Hance Sierchio at 10:36am July 8
Would love to hear! My son picks at his nails all the time! Lots of picky nails and hang nails.

Taz Bradbury at 10:38am July 8
not that easy to tell them its wrong though mate i tell mine all the time n he lifts his arm up for 5 secs n does it again till he crys no matter wat i do i cant stop him must be the same as finger bitin

Karen Fowell at 10:39am July 8
we bought for Aaron a t shaped chew bar to try and get him to chew that, not sure if its a line that you would want to go down for his chewing xxxx

Jennifer Robinson Springfield at 10:39am July 8
My son picks his around his nails as well. When he is nervous!

Heather Lee Ryssman at 10:39am July 8
would love to hear suggestions on this myself. My son seems to keep is fingers in his mouth constantly

Taz Bradbury at 10:39am July 8
hi karen lol

Katie Gehringer Busch at 10:39am July 8
my daughter has been going through a phase awhile now with biting just her one arm and grabbing it with her other til her nails dig in. She does it out of frustration it seems and we’ve been working on it to stop since her arm is bruised up.

Taz Bradbury at 10:40am July 8
same her @ katie it very upsettin to see the state of his arms in the mornin

Deek Green at 10:41am July 8
I gave my son other things to bit – dog toys, autistic rings – he still bites himself and picks but they don’t turn septic now

Taz Bradbury at 10:41am July 8
y do they do it though

Tonya Trembly Karcher at 10:42am July 8
We use chewy tubes that we get from http://www.affordabletherapysolutions.com or “hair balls” that we buy from the dollar store or Target. Basically something to give her both oral sensory input as well as tactile input. Hope this helps!

Erin Kreissler at 10:43am July 8
Can you get in touch with some OT services…we had OT provided by a community agency no cost…..it could be either hand OR mouth sensitivities (over OR under-sensitive) or both….just off the top o’ my head, make sure it isn’t related to a sore mouth or cavity he’s trying to “tell” you about…. offer very crunchy, chewy foods for the mouth, and attend to the hands with vibrating/squishy toys, brushing/scratching sensations….good luck to you both

Deek Green at 10:44am July 8
oh and I make him wear socks so his feet don’t bleed

Taz Bradbury at 10:45am July 8
he bites his feet? i no mine goes for his knees but din think of him doin that

Becky Simpson at 10:47am July 8
Some self injurious behavior can be a reaction to GI pain. Some of our kids have suffered so much gut wise and they cannot express it. My daughter was in so much pain for YEARS and Dr. Krigsman was the only one with the answers.
My Mary also went through a phase of rubbing the tips of her fingers on walls, various textures. For that, you may wish to try brushing their hands and arms lightly. Your OT should be able to show you how to do this.
Hope this helps someone…

Deek Green at 10:47am July 8
Feet, fingers, hands, arms, legs, knees and anybody elses thats close to him when he’s stressed

Julie Williams Abuaisha at 10:52am July 8
Try supplementation with zinc and see if that helps. Start with a half the recommended dose for your childs age/weight and work up slowly to full dose. Typically takes care of mouthing behaviors. Worked for us and many other kids I know of.

Erin Kreissler at 10:53am July 8
No zinc, no think…so I’ve heard

Taz Bradbury at 10:55am July 8
no meds (though calpol helps!! lol)

Julie Williams Abuaisha at 10:55am July 8
Zinc is not a med.

Sue Hemlow at 11:29am July 8
hi John my sons used to do that its a sensory thing. now only one of them bites on his hand,fingers same hand is calluosed from doin it so much now. doc says its sensory wont do nerve damage,have to distract him when he does it,also if he is upset he will do it, so is not always easy to get him to stop but will if get him interested in something or out for a walk ect. I also tell him NO DONT BITE he stops thankfully. hope this helps

Elaine Mazur at 11:30am July 8
A friends son was given a meat cutters glove to cover his hand that he chews. This of course doesn’t solve the problem but it will stop him from chewing to the bone.

Taz Bradbury at 11:31am July 8
lol

Betty Larabie at 11:51am July 8
we give my son sugarless chewing gum. It has helped divert his behavour over time. some kids its works for them, some it does not. The watermellon/strawberry gum has a strong diverting/pleasant taste he is preoccupied for some time.

Taz Bradbury at 11:55am July 8
n wud get in hair n carpets n choke lol

Beth Homewood-Milinski at 11:56am July 8
Our OT gave us therapy tubing for the kids to bite on and then recommended for us to buy more to go to walmart or a store like that and get tubing for fish tanks…..same difference and make a necklace, that way its right there. Our 11 yr old does the nail picking thing and biting. The tubing helped the biting.

Janice Adamson at 12:04pm July 8
For one of my sons, it was caused by the medication he was on. He still bites his nails occasionally, though -so if they are too short to trim I use a nail file to smooth out the edges.

Betty Larabie at 12:05pm July 8
you would think right Taz? But it has never happened!!! I was very sceptical at first as well. lol, to the point of following him with my hand under his mouth! ha ha! drove my husband nuts! ok….., so I did it to over exaggerate my concern. he he he! I actually was not sure it would work. but it did for us! ur funny Taz!

Taz Bradbury at 12:08pm July 8
hahaha lol wel he 3 n is a very messy child maybe in a few years lol n not sure bout fish tank tubin either lol jus seems bit funky walkin gound wit the newest of blings lol but wil think on them lines lol soz jus laffin so hard right now lol u cheered me up girlys lol

Betty Larabie at 12:09pm July 8
LOL!!!

Taz Bradbury at 12:28pm July 8

Jennifer Henry Radcliffe at 1:01pm July 8
My boy has a nail biting and picking problem too, but not an anxiety reaction. He does it when he’s focused on something else, just subconsiously. Did I spell that right? Don’t know what to do about it but I think I’ll try the zinc thing, I’ve heard that autistics are usually zinc deficient.

Gillian Laughlin at 1:28pm July 8
why not try bach flower rememdy cherry plum ggod for anxiety,may stop him chewing nails etc