licking and sniffing

[rainbow queen]

I wondered how many other children do this....................i presume they do..

my 6 year old has always licked and sniffed things -i think its like a comfort thing.......

when hes nervous he licks the back of his hand as well as doing like a tic movement at the same time.......

 

hes always had a toy dog since a baby and would never part with him -used to sniff him all the time....but now the sniffing has moved onto other things.........and the licking

 

caught him licking the fridges and freezers in local super market but this ones the best yet

id bought him a nintendo ds for his 6th birthday

i wondered why some of the games stopped working.........i took the ds back 2 weeks ago as i had it uder cover and exchanged it....but yet again the games were not always working

 

well tonight found out why-he keeps licking the games then putting them in the ds

so out of 5 games hes got-3 wasnt working.......... i wouldnt mind but there not cheap

i managed to get 2 more working by blowing on them.........hoping the others will work to.

i had to tell him off about it which i felt rottern for as this afternoon had been one of the good days[yesterday was a bad one with loads arguing and shouting] so he went bed upset.

i was going get him some more games for xmas but have my doubts now

rq xxx

[Bard]

Put the games in the airing cupboard overnight if you have one, or somewhere similar.

Don't ask me how I know that this usually revives ds games that have been slobbered over.

I promised Darth Vader I'd never tell of the indignities he had faced!

[Bagpuss]

My youngest dd does this quite alot, although not with games. She sniffs pillows before laying down, seats before sitting down...is very affected by smell ie won't use a public toilet if she finds it smelly, and she will comment on how someone smells. She used to lick the bottom of shoes, and it took us a long while to get her to stop.

[farfalla]

my 11 yo DS sucks things, and still does, sometimes it will be the collar on his top, and when

i notice its normally soaked. he sucks the corner of his quilt if he is up watching a dvd,

usually sucks his controllers and the remote for the tv!

 

yes good idea if you have airing cupboard, to put in there to dry out,

if not put it upright in the kitchen under some kitchen paper or tea towel.

 

i cant tell you it stops, as DS still does it to this day!

[aro]

yes, I've got a licker/sniffer too and she used to lick shoes! Will sniff peoples hair, wondered if this is how she identifies people, always sniffs my hair to relax will lick anything, including the hand rails in disabled loos and puts things in her mouth, like shells, leaves, sand etc bleughhhhh! Hoping that she grows out of it

 

A x

[shortcake]

Ryan used to lick any think metal up until he was 7 he still is very smell sensitive and always comments on what people smell like and not always in a good way!! He once told me that when he licked things it was nice and made his brain feel nice! One day it just stopped but I cant see the smelling of things ever dissapearing.

[Caroline-]

My son sniffs things, chews & sucks - he doesn't lick though, what someone said on another thread, think it's a sensory issue

[ellisisamazing]

Ellis is a licker!!

 

Has always mouthed everything, and still does...shoes, cars, bus stops, post boxes, walls, glass, metal, anything! We have to try and keep him away from these things but he is very quick once he sets his eyes on a target!

[LizC]

Hi my 7 year old likes to sniff things too (and occasionally lick lol) I think for him it is a sensory issue thing. If something smells ok he feels happy/safe secure etc for example he would sniff a seat at the cinema or he would sniff his teddy he got given at school etc. also he will sniff things before he eats his food, if it doesn't smell right he won't eat it!

Edited October 4, 2007 by LizC

[UltraMum]

J is a chewer/sniffer - it's got better as time has gone by - he's 11 now and uses dental tooth sticks to satisfy his sensory needs in chewing - that and pen tops - the sniffing remains and we're working on it ...

[elainem]

I think is is probably sensory - you could do with an OT assessment. Sounds likes sensory seeking but Ot's are the experts - they can give ideas on fulfilling the sensory needs. My ds's sensory profile changes when stressed which can be difficult with smells - when he was stressed at disneyland paris he puked everytime he smelt french cigarettes!

 

Elaine

[pauline]

Aaron is a definete licker & sniffer! He's always creeping up behind us & licking us! When I asked him why he does it he just says "it's because I love you"!

[sarah5]

This is an interesting thread, and an interesting forum too (just come across it!)

 

My DS has just had his first paed appt, I am convinced he has AS. He often sits chewing the collar of his top, or a bit of his duvet, there is always a wet slobbery patch! I often also notice him licking things, like the window when we were on a train once, the side of a table in a cafe (yuk!!!!).

 

Interesting, I just always assumed all kids did it till I started researching AS.

 

DS gets a lot of hand me down clothes from cousins, older friends, etc. and he can always tell who has handed them down to him, simply with a sniff of the garment (even if it has been washed and rewashed by me!).

Edited October 6, 2007 by sarah5

[oxgirl]

Just as a point of interest, my lad doesn't really have any sense of smell at all. Certainly, his brain never used to recognize smells until very recently. Even now, I think he has started to get a faint sensation of smell, but he's either not recognizing it or it isn't registering with his brain as such or he isn't managing to sniff effectively. I just thought it was interesting, as a lot of ASD kids seem to have an overdeveloped sense and smell and my lad is the complete opposite.

 

~ Mel ~

[callum]

if someone puts something i don't like by my mouth i'll suck my top to get anything out i never knew we did that i thought it was just me...

[Flora]

Hi rainbow... haven't seen you around for a while.

 

Bill does this sort of thing and I always just put it down to 'one of them things'. He's recently just had a full assessment with an OT and we had to fill in a full sensory profile thing (not sure if that's the right name or not) and there were loads of questions about sniffing, mouthing/licking, touching things etc. Bill has severe sensory integration dysfunction and apparently this is all to do with that. They crave certain types of stimuli and smelling and licking things is often part and parcel of these sensory issues.

 

It's also been noted in children who are alergic/sensitive to certain food groups. I read somewhere, though not sure where now, that there is some food additives in loads of household things (not just food) and that for this reason some children eat non-food stuff (it's called pica.. I think !!). I used to eat chalk and coal, and suck pebbles... I still get the urge to do this sometimes but don't give in to it now

 

May not be any of these things in your case, but thought it was all worth mentioning.

 

 

 

flora X

[maisies_mummy]

LOL Maisie is a licker too, she licks the TV and windows lol. She comments on toilets being smelly too but not really a sniffer lol.