Oral Sensory Issues

Hi Krista,
I wanted to respond to your post because my son, Matthew has a oral sensory dysfunction. He is seeing an OT twice a week and he has made a LOT of improvements since the beginning of therapy in December. Matt just turned 2 on Feb. 15th. We are still working at getting him off of stage 2 baby food. That is his "safe" food. He is now eating yogurt, cheese, bananas, crackers and cheerios. But, in order for me to get vegetables down, he will only eat Sweet Potatoes and Corn stage 2 baby food.

In the beginning, Matthew couldn't tolerate grass, leaves or anything with a texture to it. His OT has worked with him and he can now pick up and play with grass, leaves and sand! Yeah! We've come a long way. Now that Matt can tolerate touching textures, his eating has improved because he can tolerate textures in his mouth.

If you want some ideas on textured activities, please email me back and I would be happy to give you a ton of ideas on how you can help your little one too. Keep up the great work. Your baby will overcome this!!

There's a book about sensory integration issues called The Out-of-Sync Child. You might want to check it out at the library and see if it gives you some insight on what you're going through. Many times, children outgrow these things, but in the meantime, you're doing the right thing by having a professional help him! :)

One of my 15 month old twins has oral issues (ok, a lot more issues than that, a brain disorder, but we'll let that for another post).

What her OT recommended was a Nuk toothbrush for infants. Nuk has a thre pack that is pretty pricel (like $22) but I found at Meijer the Safety First version for about $3 (much better pricing). The "brushes" are rubber ended, a small toothbrush, and a nubby "oval". We are to place it inside of her mouth and rub her gums and inside cheek. We can put apple sauce or another "flavor" to make it more enticing and get her used to the idea.

They have also recommended suckers - little "dum dums" available in many flavors to stimulate lip licking (one of her issues) and get something inside of her mouth. Also reco'd was flavored licorice (rainbow colors) to get that sensory of "something's in my mouth" going. with that said, we can still wrestle a toothbrush into her mouth (she doesn't like it but is getting used to it and daddy is a dentist). Getting a toothbrush into a 2-years mouth is probably like brushing a bobcat's teeth!Talk to your OT -0 they MUST have suggestions. Get them to write them down so you can try them. The first time is not going to go well, nor may the third or fifth. We still sometimes need to truly "sit" on my 3.5 year old to get her teeth brushed. The alternative is less desirable - a visit to the dentist with "Mr. Bumpy" and the "fire truck"!. Good luck.

Krista, I know this might not be your case but I thought I should mention it just in case it is... I once met someone on the internet who said that her son always had this unusual behavioral problems. He would go crazy everytime they would go out to the park or when he was wearing certain socks... She finally found out that her son had an unusual form of autism. His autism is purely sensorial. After finding this out, they realized that outdoor activities would make him sweat and the feeling of the sweat on his skin was the trigger, same thing with his socks, it was the feeling of the inside stitches that would drive him crazy. Once they were able to work around that, her son stopped having behavior issues. I hope you can find out what's going on with your son! I think the must difficult part is finding the right diagnosis so I thought it would be good to pass the information so you can check all possibilities.

Krista, my 9 year old son has a sensory processing disorder as well. We did therapy from when he was 4 until he was 7. The rest of the population would probably never notice anymore; he's learned well how to handle the things that still bother him. He never liked getting his teeth brushed either when he was little; he'd scream and fight me like he was being tortured. Along with all the other OT and PT he did, our OT had me do the Wilbarger's brushing technique on the body, which helped tremendously. I would also wipe down his teeth with a washcloth, which was a little more tolerable, though he still didn't like it. Dentist appointments were painful for him and me, but our pediatric dentist didn't give up. The first visits she barely got in his mouth. Eventually she cleaned them, did some fillings and other work. He gradually improved. Now he's great at brushing his own teeth and even likes to floss. A year ago we were at the dentist cause a tooth he had to have crowned when he was much younger was loose; he told her to give him a tissue and some time in front of the mirror and he'd pull it himself! So hang in there. Work with your OT, and try the washcloth to keep his teeth as clean as possible. He'll probably end up with some cavities, but don't beat yourself up over it. You're doing the best you can. The over-reactive sensory system is actually causing them pain, and so you just do what you can. If you have any questions, or just need some support, let me know!

Hi Krista, my son also has a few issues with oral sensitivity. He is 27 months old and can only tolerate smooth-textured foods. His speech is delayed as well, so we are working with a speech therapist. At each session, she spends time working on his speech and also tries techniques to get him to experience new food textures. An OT also visited with him once and offered a wide variety of exercises for him to use at home if needed. I must say that just over a month of therapy has really helped my son. He is making strides everyday with his speech and he finally was able to tolerate cookie crumbs in his mouth. I was so happy that my eyes filled up with tears! This is only the beginning. He still will not eat things such as toast, waffles, hot dogs, etc., but I know that with therapy he will get there. Good luck to you!!

We are with you!!! Our daughter is 2 and could care less if she eats!! She is seeing an OT and I don't think we are having any luck! Our daughter does ok when we brush her teeth, we use a battery powered spinning Oral-B. That's what her dentist recommended and the OT confirmed it was best.
I understand your frustration. It is so hard to get her to do her oral sensory "exercises". Meal time is so overwhelming and frustrating!! This morning we tried reverse psychology and it worked for 2-3 bites. We have tried letting Elmo sit at the table and her feeding Elmo then herself; we also tried letting Elmo sing when she takes a couple bites. It seems she is more into the singing then anything.
Good luck to you...I am looking forward to the responses you get to see if any will help us too.

My daughter began seeing an OT when she was fifteen months old due to oral sensory issues. She was barely eating and gagging on any smooth textured food. With the help of the OT we found that she did better with rough textured foods (i.e. chicken nuggets, etc.) and also loved frozen foods. The coldness of frozen foods numbed the sensory issues and she could eat. We even found that she would eat frozen peas...still frozen...they just melted in her mouth!

Our OT suggested buying play food and pretending eating it as a game, then working into trying with real food. That actually worked a few times!

We also used the electric toothbrush and the "body brushing" technique. Her OT worked on the whole body, not just the mouth, to try to desensitize her that way.

I think we had the OT for about six months, 1-2 times a week, before we "graduated". Success for us was her eating...even if it was mostly the same foods over and over, and not always the most healthy ones at that. Giving up some of the power struggles that come along with this helped too.

My daughter is now six and in the last year has started trying more foods. She is healthy and happy, as I'm sure your son will be too. Hang in there...I know it is scary and frustrating when your child won't eat, but it will get better in time.

Best of luck to you~

i have a daughter with oral issues as well as a feeding tube. she lost her ability to eat around 10 mo. talk to your ot about a z-vibe. It really helps stimulate the muscles in their mouth. wish you all the luck!!!

C.

One of my twins had some sensory issues, but regarding his skin - he couldn't turn touch stimulation into movement, so he was late crawling and reaching out for toys. We worked with an OT and a PT and the results startled me - he rebounded within a few days and then continued to recover. He still has the basic issue - he has to work hard to memorize a movement (like climbing the stairs), but it's almost a non-problem b/c the exercises and therapies work so well. I continue to be stunned that such a simple thing as the exercises can help as much as they do. Good luck with yours!

Krista - my son who has autism is hyposensitive around his mouth, meaning he can't get enough stimulation. It was worst around 2 years old. It sounds like your son has the opposite sensory issue, hypersensitivity. The OT's that we have worked with used tools and exercises to stimulate his mouth which helped him stop chewing on things and improved his speech. I'm sure that yourOT's have tools or exercises that will do the opposite for your son. It just takes some time. Stick with it. Good luck!