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chewing revelation about our k

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Hello everyone,

 

Can anyone please tell me if they have come across this type of behaviour before about chewing. This is starting to make sense to us a bit more regarding our k and his sensitivities.

 

After k did his runnig up and down the living room for a bit, he settled down and we had dinner, me and my partner (he came downstairs to eat with us for a change) we started talking about food and while k was relaxed enough i asked him why does he spit out his meat (we have tried him with steak pie, lamb, beef,)after chewing it. He said he finds it too big and it takes to long.

 

I said what takes too long, he said it takes too long to chew it to make it small enough and i have to chew it to tiny pieces so i can swallow, it has to be soft. Those tablets you gave me were hard (pellet study for GOSH) so spat them out, I like to chew my food really small. No wonder he has not been eating school dinners and why there is a problem with certain food. !!!!!

 

After all these years we have finally found out why his mouth gets sore, why he takes so long to eat, (even though i cut up food for him) and this explains the type of food he eats, and why he refuses other foods. I feel really stupid for not picking up on this earlier but it makes sense now and i will ring the dietician to explain this. I honestly have never come across this before, our k explained that he likes to chew his mouth even when there is no food in it and sometimes he bits the inside of his lower lips . It makes sense now why his lips become so sore it looks like he has put lipstick on and around his lips.

 

His lips swell and become cracked and a couple of times when he was at school (changing school again !) they put vaseline on them. The doctor has noticed about his lips as well ,i thought it was he was a bit dehyrdrated how stupid do i feel now. Why could he not say anything like this earlier. Why after all this time. He said it like it was a matter of fact so casual.

 

I feel like a big penny has dropped and both me and his dad just looked at each other. At last another piece of the puzzle fits.

 

Our k is off to see the OT next week and i rang her and mentioned this and she said the cover something called oral motor skills, has anyone heard of this ? Does anyone have experience of this ?.

 

Still in shock, with regards

 

sarni

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I can relate to that. Up to adolescence I was an incredibly fussy eater. The texture of the food was as important if not more so than the taste. Even the smell before putting it into my mouth could stop me from eating. Still today I can't bear the texture of fat, so I cut even the smallest part off a piece of meat, and if is too tough I don't like having to chew it for more than five or six times. I can remember only eating the very outside leaves of a lettuce because the inside was too crunchy.

 

Almost all the senses are used when eating, even the sound of the food in the mouth comes into it. I think you will need to be aware of the presentation of the meal as well, such as having it in easily managed pieces.

 

I used to suck my thumb as a comfort or if I wasn't allowed to, gently bit the inside of my cheeks.

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Raydon has a point all the senses are used and it sounds like K is craving sensory input when he chews his mouth. Problem is it also sounds like his jaw gets tired from all the chewing. Would asking him to choose what he would like to eat be possible? i know the more stressed i am the harder it is to decide what to eat. Also consider exploring any possible dental problems (that's if you can find an understanding dentist).

 

Your son K sounds like me, unless someone asks me a question in the right way I wouldn't think to offer the information. Take using the toilet for example I used to think people were purposefully stopping me from using the loo. It took me a while to realise that people dont know I need to use the loo and if they did would accept me needing to go. Whether I can communicate verbally or using a communication card depends on who I am with or how overloaded I am at the time. Believe it or not my voice hurts my ears sometimes even though this is a predicted noise which I can control so I can avoid speaking due to this problem.

 

There are a few threads on SPD (sensory processing disorder which once you reach adulthood is near impossible to be diagnosed and treated). Ask your occupational therapist if they have any ideas for treating the sensory overload. If no luck then try asking the local autism support group i mentioned to you via PM (or your other 1/2) for details. There was a lady known to the branch called Maggie but i cant remember her surname who ran skills groups for kids but these were younger kids.

 

This thread

http://www.asd-forum...ird-experience/ ....

.... is likely to have some ideas about your sons sensory problems.

 

One of my favourite authors Olga Bogdashina has written a book about sensory processing and ASD.

 

http://www.jkp.com/c...gue/author/1078

 

http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book/9781843101666

 

HTH

 

Branch Minutes Secretary (committee in the area where you live)

Edited by trekster

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mine will only eat mince so i get him steak mince which is softer and has no gristle and fat in it.he does not like the texture of lumps of meat,so i have to make sure its really soft and dissolves in his mouth.

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Our k is seeing the OT soon, did anyone give you any advice at all on how to overcome this ?

 

On the eating issue no, it was really a matter of working with it. Some things I just couldn't eat, full stop. Others I would tolerate in strange ways, for example carrots I would only eat if they were cut length ways, no lumps in the mash etc. You will need to experiment with different approaches and see what works and what doesn't.

Tastes also change with age quite unpredicably.

 

I went through this a long time ago, I'm sure the techniques have changed drastically since then!

Edited by raydon

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I can relate to chewing the inside of my mouth. I have chewed the inside of my cheeks since I was a child and it's something both my mum and my son do too. I can chew off quite big bits at times and crunch them with my teeth and I've always gained some sense of satisfaction from doing this and the noise I hear in my head. If I'm pretty stressed it can get to a point where it's quite painful due to the raw skin being exposed to hot drinks etc.

 

I can experience a kind of 'lock jaw' from chewing food too although this doesn't happen often. I don't really have a big problem with eating meat which I enjoy but I do prefer white meat because it is easier to chew and only eat small portions of red meat. It may be worth noting that meat must be chewed quite well in order to digest it properly. My son is the same with meat however, preferring chicken or fish but we do encourage him to eat a certain amount of red meat but cut it into very small pieces and perhaps soften it a little with gravy. He is also not keen on mince but bolognaise for example has onions and mushrooms in it chopped as small as possible. I used to mash mince to make it more sauce-like and he ate it this way for a while. My son cannot stand the texture of pasta or rice which is something we don't push and his potatoes are always mashed well.

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just wanted to let people know i have checked my profile and updated it. Especially where k is concerned. I can't believe its got that bad and how i should have spotted the stool witholding before. I live and learn.

 

with regards

 

once again

 

thanks for all the posts and help and support, i would be so lost with out you.

 

sarni.

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Really hope you can find the help you need with the OT. Let us know good or bad how it goes.

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I think I have said this time and time again with lots of other posters about different subjects.

NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING.

Often there are huge differences in EXPERIENCE between NTs and those on the spectrum. Those with an ASD will almost certain have some sensory issues - which means they will experience and perceive and process things differently.

And so you never ask the question because it never occurs to you. And he never tells you because it never occurs to him that his experience is different to anyone elses.

 

 

I learnt this lesson with my own son when he was quite young. And often his 'avoidance' behaviour was due to different sensory experiences of THE SAME THING. So if something hurts you one time, and then not the next, but hurts again the next time - that will make you VERY ANXIOUS and probably will refuse that activity all the time because you cannot tell WHEN it will be painful or okay.

 

So IF you have problems with smells, tastes, textures etc, that can affect so many environments. My son used to run around the supermarket, and I thought he was just being naughty. But when he told me he runs past the fridges because he can smell the meat and it smells so bad to him he has to get away to stop himself being sick - then it makes sense. But if you don't know that, you don't figure out how to get round these issues and all you are left with his behaviour that you have no idea where it is coming from.

 

In the same way, if a child has tactile sensitivity, no amount of rewards/star charts are going to get him/her to keep their clothes on IF those clothes hurt them.

 

And, as you found, you have to ask a direct question to get the answer.

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Thank you sally for confirming what I have believed all along, the main reason for me falling out with people is because they a) avoid asking me why I have said or done something, B) believe my reason c) sometimes push help and suggestions (by my feeling I'm unable to say 'no' to them it is pushing) onto me about resolving issues.

 

Wish my family and false friends would get the message, there is no such thing as obvious when it comes to dealing with autistics.

 

Hope you manage to help yourselves/kids with their sensory issues it is a widely misunderstood subject. So misunderstood that im considering it as a double project if i can get onto my postgraduate course again.

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