Preschooler with Strange Nervous Behaviorisms

My son is 8 and has Aspergers/ADHD. He sometimes chews on his shirt collar, but most of his nervous habits are verbal- singing and humming constantly. At school, they tried giving him a necklace called chewelry that's designed to give him something more appropriate to do. You can probably find a lot of information on these types of behaviors from web pages related to autism- they are often called "stims".

I would try just ignoring what he does. Germs are not such a big deal, after all. We build up immunity as we're exposed to them. The child who is most often ill is the one who has been protected from exposure to germs and animals because his body has not had an opportunity to build up a defense system.

As to tugging on his shirt sleeves, perhaps they're uncomfortable. And putting his fingers in his mouth sounds quite normal to me. Allow him to be the confident boy that he is. Trying to stop him from such minor things is going to take away his confidence.

I believe that if you can relax, he'll relax too and do less nervous type of actions.

It sounds like your son may possibly have sensory issues, which are surprisingly common and not necessarily a big deal. (I've discovered after leading a normal life, with a few little quirks, that I have sensory issues myself.)

Here's one website that explains the disorder and gives a checklist. You may "see" your son in the descriptions, or not. If so, it offers ideas about how to cope. Learn more by googling Sensory Processing Disorder.

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-proces...

I agree with another mom who suggested Sensory Processing Disorder. An excellent website is www.spdfoundation.net which offers lots of resources and referral info.
SPD is a neurological disorder which affects how a child experiences sensation. It is expressed exactly the way you describe in many children, including my own, though there are several types and not all kids respond this way. I remember one therapy progress report that said : Aviva has made progress because I don't have to wash as many of the toys after a visit." I was so shocked!!
A really good book to determine if your child has SPD is The Out-of-Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz. SPD is generally diagnosed and treated by occupational therapist and the website above has a national directory of OTs with specialized training in SPD. I can recommend several other books and websites if you determine your child has SPD

My 4 year old daughter still puts everything in her mouth too. It is driving me crazy and I am constantly worried about all the germs she is exposed to. The other day I dropped her at dance class and watched from outside. She danced right up to the mirror and licked it. I was so horrified. I have just decided she is very oral and just not outgrown that stage yet. I feel like I draw attention to it and it makes it worse. I think some kids just take longer to out grow the putting everything in their mouth. I plan to discuss it with the doctor at a future appointment. Best of luck.

My son put things in his mouth a lot too, is just now starting to stop doing it, and he's 6. Does your son do it all the time? Because my son probably did it a few times a day, and I just made sure each time I saw it, I told him to get it out of his mouth. Eventually, it became less and less until now, when I haven't seen him put something in his mouth for a long time.

If there is a special Education team at his school ask them. Did you ask you peditrician? OTs are amazing in the preschools!

ignore ignore ignore.. try ignoring it for a while.. he might be doing it for attention.

or he might really be nervous in those situations..

is he an anxious child? does he need to see a psychologist.?

germs are everywhere -especially places that kids are.. I wouldnt worry about the germs...

I'll 2nd the gum chewing. It helps keep their mouth occupied and they won't put anything else in. Our speech therapist recommended it.

Gum could help. We let our kids chew on the Beckman Tri-Chew, blue or pink ones. Green (XL) are too hard. There's any number of websites that sell them. Our daughter tugged on her clothes a lot until we found out she was tactiley defensive. We've been brushing her skin several times a day and she now tolerates her clothes very well. That also seems to reduce her need to have something like her hands in her mouth. My oldest was also sensitive that way and swimming was and is torture for him. He likes the feel of the brushing and we let him chew gum going to and coming from swimming, and it seems to be much better for him. Hopefully it will end soon!

I would get it checked out...you never know. I am a preschool teacher, and that is what i would recommend

I thought the same thing as the mom who suggested sensory issues. The best person to evaluate a child for sensory issues is an Occupational Therapist.

My oldest son also had an "oral" thing going on when he was that age. He would chew on anything, and would literally bite his buttons in two on his shirts. I started giving him chewing gum which satisfied his need to bite things. In a few years he grew out of that state.