chewing on shirt

[jupsie]

why does my grandson chew on his shirt

[benjimom]

specialmom, I am reading the 'out of sync child " now to help me eval if my son has sensory issues.  have you read it?  THe ped. recommended it.

[jupsie]

I was wondering if you could tell me about the activities you do with your son for his nervous system

[jupsie]

Oh thank you so much! My grandson is 5 yrs. old. I will stay in contact and will also do more research on the sensory disorder. Thank you so much again :)

[specialmom]

To Jupsie,  someone above gave a three word answer----  sensory processing/ integration disorder.  Well----  my son does have sensory integration disorder which is a developmental delay that affects the nervous system.  Delay has NOTHING to do with intelligence . . . my son's communication system between his brain and other senses is off.  My son was spotted by an astute teacher in preschool when he was 3 as having this but the evaluation was inconclusive then . . . but by 4 it was very obvious.  When we had him evaluated a second time by an occupational therapist----  it was clear.  By 4.5 he was sucking on his shirt sleeves and collars at times.  It is when he is trying to soothe himself.  He has difficulty self soothing, so that is one of his ways he figured out himself.  It was our occupational therapist that told us that this is not uncommon in kids with sensory, add/adhd or anxiety.  

My son was active as a baby and toddler-----  very active.  He was my first born and I also have another son 15 months younger than him . . . so I was slightly in a haze at the time and thought it was all normal.  But in retrospect he was a bit on the hyper side.  He was the kind of baby that we had to walk around and jiggle to get to sleep and had gi issues and cried easily.  He didn't have colic as I've heard colic can be, and was a happy little guy overall.  He didn't sit down and do things like my younger son, he was constant motion.

Anyway, fast forward----  he is now 6 and in kindergarten and doing great.  He can focas well, is organized, well behaved and having no issues at all in school.  We do occupational therapy once a week and lots of activities at home for his nervous system.  

So, Jupsie----  I just thought I'd give this additional info as you seem to be searching for answers for your grandson.  It could be just straight anxiety or something else----  by the way, how old is he?

[benjimom]

Thanks for checking in on me guys.  My little guy is at school right now.  He's getting 1:1 today.  He has not been doing well in teh classroom.  I will go pick up in a minute and see what is happening. I am waiting to hear from his therapist soon nad will talk to her about things and see what we should do next. I took him to the pediatrician and he wasn't sure if he had ADHD or not.  He said esp given the events of the last year he did not want to make that determination yet, but to give it more time. He gave us some paperwork to fill out, etc.

Yes, as an infant, he always wanted to be held.  He was not one that would sit still in a stroller or carrier for hours on end.  He liked to be doing stuff. HE crawled at 6 months and walked at 13 months, he was getting around so well crawling, why walk?  He has not been what I would call an "easy" child.  I would say very temperamental.  Still is, in some ways better.  

I left a msg with my therapist, waiting to hear back...

[jupsie]

I was wondering how your son was as a infant? My Grandson WAS HYPER FROM DAY ONE. He was never content. Keep in touch. I would like to see how evrything is going for you and your precious little boy. I feel your pain. jupsie