Chewing solution

[MMR5]

My 9yo has inattentive ADHD and a chewing fixation. His school is wonderful and they allow him to have gum to help with focus. But he is getting an orthodontic expander in soon and gum will be off-limits. Any suggestions on replacement chewy things? He hasn’t done well in the past with pencil toppers, necklaces, etc.

[Onthemove1971]

Thanks for the message. Could you encourage him to use a "finger spinner" type device. There are many different ( one hand vs two hands, different textures, different materials, etc).

Also, have you considered occupational therapy with his school? They maybe able to give you feedback on things that you have not considered.

I would also encourage a 504 plan in school to help with his needs.

Hope this helps.

[BLC89]

Hello MMR5,This may sound odd but, have you looked into small dog chew toys? I have found, in my admittedly limited experience, oral fixations can be hard to redirect to a different fidget.

Something small and rubbery that won't mess with his orthodontics may do the trick. Or maybe fussing at the expander in his mouth will be enough, that would be great.

I would also follow what Onthemove1971 suggested and see if a different fidget or OT could help.

Good luck,

BLC89

[Mamamichl in reply to BLC89]

You haven’t heard about chewelry? There’s special rubber items just for this! My students love them.

[BLC89 in reply to Mamamichl]

OMG I'm excited to check it out!

[Mamamichl]

look up chewelry! We use those in my special education classrooms for kids that are orally fixated. It’s basically a piece of rubber made for kids with asd. There are ones that are pencil toppers and necklaces, etc. they are in various shapes as well for fashion purposes. I got my daughter one that was a Batman symbol.

Chewelry

[arrh121]

My son is constantly chewing on things, we have been using the chewing items from ARK Therapeutic for a long time with success. They are extremely durable and he likes them. Kind of expensive but they last a long time and there are occasionally sales.

[Crytna610]

I have a similar issue with my daughter who loves to chew but she can not always have gum such as sports practices. I try to give her some strategies like chewing on ice chips at home, eating hard to chew items such as fruit chews or jerky or sucking a smoothie through a straw, blowing things across the table using a straw. I just started this with my daughter but I do feel that many times for her it is more of a release of energy than sensory seeking but if figured it can't hurt. Also wall push ups and lots of physical activity. Good Luck!