ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 7, 2008 El has always been a licker and in the past we have had obsessions with mouthing sand, metal, plastic, soil, glass, shoes, car wheels, dusty bits of exterior wall when out etc It has been paper for months now, initially from the printer, so we stopped leaving paper in it, then moved onto newspapers/magazines, so we stopped buying them....nothing worse than reading a page and then finding you can't finish the article! Then it moved onto thick as a wall cardboard childrens book's, so they are now banished....then regular books, so they are relegated too....and last weeks discovery was around 20 CD's with mouth shaped holes in the inlay covers......Hubby is very unhappy......I had the foresight to already move and hide my part of the CD collection in our bedroom...he refused, claiming "that we might as well not live normally then"....I wasn't aware we did! Now half a panel of wallpaper by his bed, last night when he slept a grand total of around 40 mins all night! I ended up hallucinating due to my lack of sleep earlier this morning....I was driving a double decker bus from the upper level, up and down our local high street that had just been re-tarred in chocolate fudge cake to the theme of BANANA SPLITS!!! Weird...I know! Wish I could stop this obsession of his......... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted January 7, 2008 <'> Lisa JP used to eat all sorts of crud - it passed with maturity (& a good dose of Senocot) I am amazed he didnt poison himself but apparently has the constitution of an ox. No advice but know how you feel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 7, 2008 Thanks Pearl! <'> Just realised what a nutjob I sound recalling my double decker driving! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted January 7, 2008 Noooo, its quite normal for you! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 7, 2008 Thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dooday24 Report post Posted January 7, 2008 i know how u feel reece has weired obsessions but has never eaten weired things cant even get him too eat food lol one of his obssessions is hes got a small rwnd warmer that u put in the microwave then he puts about 15 pairs of it!!!! likes too keep it warm me thinx lol also sniffs and licks everyone and sniffs one kind of newspaper and it goes on and on ive just learnt to live withthem can be funny at times lol sorry not much help love donnaxxxx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 7, 2008 Thanks Donna <'> The irony is he is seriously iron deficient <'> , has foody issues but will happily eat all non edibles! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Caroline- Report post Posted January 7, 2008 My son has always mouthed things, anything & everything goes in! Which is quite worrying when he is racing about with a pin or marble in his mouth so i am constantly looking/checking for & hiding any sharp items on a daily basis. It's the same at school & when we're out. Any shiny or glitterey objects take his attention & he has such a good eye for these things to seek them out Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shamu Report post Posted January 7, 2008 (edited) El has always been a licker and in the past we have had obsessions with mouthing sand, metal, plastic, soil, glass, shoes, car wheels, dusty bits of exterior wall when out etc It has been paper for months now, initially from the printer, so we stopped leaving paper in it, then moved onto newspapers/magazines, so we stopped buying them....nothing worse than reading a page and then finding you can't finish the article! Then it moved onto thick as a wall cardboard childrens book's, so they are now banished....then regular books, so they are relegated too....and last weeks discovery was around 20 CD's with mouth shaped holes in the inlay covers......Hubby is very unhappy......I had the foresight to already move and hide my part of the CD collection in our bedroom...he refused, claiming "that we might as well not live normally then"....I wasn't aware we did! Now half a panel of wallpaper by his bed, last night when he slept a grand total of around 40 mins all night! I ended up hallucinating due to my lack of sleep earlier this morning....I was driving a double decker bus from the upper level, up and down our local high street that had just been re-tarred in chocolate fudge cake to the theme of BANANA SPLITS!!! Weird...I know! Wish I could stop this obsession of his......... Oh crikey - are you me?????!!!! James has always been a "mouther" but in the last 3 months (since he started nursery ) he has started eating paper too. Exactly the things you descirbe - newspaper, magazines, paper out of the recycling bin, DD's board books, my books, my mail, my recipe books, the torn off wallpaper etc etc. At school he has been going into the toilets and pulling out loads of paper towel to eat His new OT is next to useless and had no advice/strategies for me at all I know it must be due to stress as his sleep is going downhill too and my gut feeling is it's because he's in a massive nursery class (24 children PLUS three SEN ) which must be horrific for him. But the LEA won't move him until September So no answers but lots of empathy Shamu Edited January 7, 2008 by shamu Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elun1 Report post Posted January 7, 2008 <'> What a nightmare. Is Ellis' sleep no better at all? I always have big big sympathy over this as O has never needed much sleep xx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
madmumof5 Report post Posted January 8, 2008 (edited) My ds2 has chewed both headends of his bunkbed and has now started on the sides ,I thought ds1 had been slicing his pencils up until I went on the top bunk to change the covers,it looks like a hamster has been up there!! Edited January 8, 2008 by madmumof5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks for your replies! <'> Ellis came home from school yesterday with a note from his teacher, he apparently also tried eating a book yesterday and had to be stopped which resulted in a meltdown and him banging his eye! He was in a foul mood last night, rolling around grunting and screeching, kicking out and biting his jumper (he never bites people luckily but his clothes always take the brunt!) After almost two hours he finally calmed down and then wanted to cling to me on the sofa and just cuddle, which was lovely! ....Then bed time came and for once he fell asleep!.....But by 11pm was awake again and eating another lining paper panel! I told him off, but seconds later he was off again! He also kicked off this morning having his bath, so has gone into school with a note explaining all the at home stuff so teacher is well prepared! His sleep or lack off is shicking to me! It has been basically six months on, six months off with him, well seven this time! So glad to have people who understand, Thanks again! Lisa xx Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sueeltringham Report post Posted January 8, 2008 Apparently eating things like wallpaper and wood can be a craving for cellulose. I've heard it's quite common for ASD kids, particularly on a GF/CF diet. Not sure what you can do about it, though! I've just given my 6 year old a teething ring (one of those for babies!) and told him it's to chew on as I was really annoyed when I found chewed up new Christmas toys and bite marks on everything, including his sisters new dolls! Seems to have worked! Sue Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oxgirl Report post Posted January 8, 2008 What's he like with proper food, Lisa? Would he accept a dry cracker or riveta or something like that as an alternative to chew on in place of the paper? Maybe it's the texture and dryness of the paper that he likes. You can get those edible rice papers that you use in cooking, maybe he'd enjoy chomping on those instead? Maybe everytime he heads off for some paper offer one of those instead? Good luck with it. <'> ~ Mel ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 8, 2008 Thanks Sue and Mel! With regard to the cracker thing, that's his staple diet....I think the paper is another food group in his head! We have thought about the rice paper, but agreed with El's consultant it would probably just accellerate the issue...because off GDD and SMI, he has short term memory and the mental age 18 months so he wouldn't make the connection with the rice paper....Plus once he goes to bed, I can't stay there all night to watch him, we need a closure on this issue, hopefully we will sort something out! Thanks for the thought, though! <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JsMum Report post Posted January 9, 2008 Thanks Donna <'> The irony is he is seriously iron deficient <'> , has foody issues but will happily eat all non edibles! Found this and pica is a symptom of iron deficient. http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what...ia_000057_4.htm JsMum Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 9, 2008 Thanks JsMum, I will read that in a minute! <'> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
morgan and alexandra Report post Posted January 13, 2008 (edited) I read your posts with interest as our DD used to eat her shoes, raw sausages and potatoes and rummage around in the waste bin and eat old food out of there... the thing with this though is that she used to always put her fingers in my mouth as a comforter so you can imagine the nightmare I had with constant bad tummy etc as I didnt always know when she had done it. Thankfully with a lot of time and effort I have managed to stop these although she still has phases of chewing and mouthing objects. She has recently started started chewing paper but am trying to ignore it and hope it just a passing fad....Good luck xxx Edited January 13, 2008 by morgan and alexandra Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ellisisamazing Report post Posted January 13, 2008 El also does the shoe licking! And now there are three walls that are chewed! Now we remember why we had the rest of the house skimmed.....so El's will have to be done too. He is now sitting munching fromage frais and crisps at the same time.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anita81 Report post Posted January 13, 2008 sorry to take a dump on anybodys chips but i still do it .soap,toilet paper,foam bath letters etc.the only thing that comes close is crunchies. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScienceGeek Report post Posted January 14, 2008 sorry to take a dump on anybodys chips but i still do it .soap,toilet paper,foam bath letters etc.the only thing that comes close is crunchies. Foam letters are nice and chewy. My parents used to go mad at me for chewing on sponges and paper. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
