why does my son lick objects at nearly 6years old?

[katieboo]

hi all, my son who is suspected to have an asd ,licks objects,example,over christmas when he walked into my mums house ,on seeing her christmas tree he ran over to it and started licking and kissing the baubles,also yesterday ,taking him into school (we went down to the door with him due to the snow) they had some large boxes in the reception area ,before he went into the hall he ran to the boxes he started sniffing and licking them,does anyone know why a child who maybe on the spectrum licks things? he doesnt do it all the timep,personaly i think it was maybe because he was a little stressed with the snow disruption to his usual pattern and routine entering school,he also has to lick peoples faces when he kisses them.thanks in advance for any replies.kath

[Suze]

its a sensory thing , my son used to chew objects.I read the book sensory perceptions in autism by olga bogdashina and this really helped me understand my son more.

[Sa Skimrande]

Taste is a sense, and it could be he is using his sense of taste to understand more, as to understand using taste as a sense is present in nature, and we are all animals.

[katieboo]

thanks suze.il have a read.kath

[Sally44]

Yes, I can recommend that book too.

 

It is thought that all those on the spectrum have sensory differences ranging from mild to severe. There are the senses of sound, taste, texture, smell, touch, vision, balance and co-ordination. All of these senses have to work together correctly to give us the correct sensory/information "input", so that we can respond with the correct response or "output".

 

So, as an example, a child that is blind may tap, smell, touch, taste things to help them get a better understanding of what they are holding. So do some autistic children, so are they in some way not getting enough sensory information through their sense of "sight", and therefore need to get more information through the other senses? That is just an example.

 

There is also sensory processing disorder, which alot on the spectrum have, this is when the sensory system has clinically significant differences.

 

My own son has faceblindness, so he finds it hard to recognise people and relies on other things such as their hair style or colour, their smell, how they move. It means that he can get anxious in groups of people, which is understandable if you do not recognise any of them. My son says he cannot tell if someone is a 'friend' or an 'enemy'. We rely alot on sight. My son also has auditory processing difficulties which means he finds it difficult to hear some sounds, including some phonic sounds. He also cannot tell someones mood from their tone of voice. He also often appears deaf when his brain has actually just "turned off" his ears so they are not processing any sounds at all.

 

With sensory disorder there can be difficulties multi processing through a number of senses at the same time. So, for example, if I ask my son to look at me and then give him an instruction, the chances are he will not have heard the instruction because he was 'looking'. He hears best with his back to me [or his teacher or other distractions].

 

He does not like certain tastes, textures and smells, and will run away from a smell because it can bother him so much.

 

His senses are also heightened when he is stressed and not coping.

 

Sensory behaviour can also be reassuring - such as rocking back and forth. But it may also mean that they would benefit from certain occupational therapy.

[Alibird]

My son aged 6, uses his mouth for most things. He eats toys and clothes & also licks when kissing. I think it's just his way of working things out around him. My hubby who is also a aspie grew out of mouthing things when he was about 10-11 years old.