Does anyones children do this? | Autism PDD

Yes, Ali does it all the time! And occassionally I do it. I thought we were just weird. When it happens to me it is like my mouth is producing more saliva than I would normally casually swallow in between words or breaths...

Maybe it's oral-defensiveness plus low muscle tone. After all, he does notice the drooling and controls it. However, there could actually be some health reasons behind it -- anything from enlarged tonsils, tooth decay, jaw/tongue size and neurological problems, according to this article:

http://health.ivillage.com/dental/dsaliva/0,,5ms2,00.html

Sounds like it wouldn't hurt to talk to the pediatrician about it.

Yes Michael drools, usually when he is focused on something for awhile he doesn't realize his mouth is open, and sometimes does it when he is very excited. I think they are just not aware of their mouth being open.

My autistic son doesn't do this, but my younger son does it a little if he's really concentrating on his drawing.

It could be a sign of poor oral motor skills and/or muscle tone problems. Below are some tips from the SPD website ( http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-integrati on-activities.html). Good luck with everything.

14. ORAL MOTOR TOYS/PRODUCTS/GAMES:

Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists treat hundreds of children every day who have difficulties with oral motor control and difficulty regulating sensory input in the mouth (hypo- or hyper- sensitive).

These are the children who have difficulties with speech, eating, are constantly putting things in their mouth, drooling, or never eating anything besides applesauce and yogurt.

Click here for the Sensory Processing Disorder Checklist to see if your child has signs of sensory dysfunction regarding oral input.

It is rare you will find either therapist walking around without a bag full of oral motor toys.

Toys we love include...

whistles

blow toys

blo pens

straws (ie. playing hockey by blowing cotton balls or splatter painting by blowing on paint using a straw etc.)

sweet and sour candies and gum

weird and different foods

making food into toys or animals

oral massagers

textured teething rings or spoons

bubbles

chewy tubing

and edible play doh

Again, creativity is key!

There is an endless list of activities that children can do to improve their oral motor control and give their mouths more, or the right type of input.

This is often one of the parts of sensory integration activities and therapy children look forward to most... we put a lot of fun and sometimes bizarre creativity into it, but it works!

Want more information about picky and resistant eaters? Subscribe to my free monthly newsletter so you can read an extensive article on this. Click here to find out more about my newsletter, "The SPD Companion".

Both boys do, Andrew much more so than Nikolas, and it is the low muscle tone in his face. He does not have normal tongue control, although we are doing excersises to work on it, mainly licking lollipops and ice cream cones. Yum therapy. LOL! Finger painting with pudding wasn't on the above list but it was a favorite around here and kind of goes along with the edible playdough idea. Its how I got them to lick their fingers.Hayden does this thing like sucking up drool all the time. Whether hes talking or not talking he does it all day long. Its like say you drool and you try to catch it. Sometimes hell actually drool but its not like a baby drooling all over. Hel be talking and a long drool accidently slips out. Dont know how else to describe it! That happens maybe twice a day and the sucking noise lasts ALL day and when he does it (besides the few times per day) there isnt any spit escaping his mouth at all. Sorry I used the word drool so much! It seems to me like maybe he feels like hes drooling or spit will escape from his mouth although hes not but then a couple of times a day he actually will. Its strange! Does anyones kids do this? and if so why??Payne does...it seems the drool is the tell for him. (Like poker) When his drools goes away he starts acting up and when he is drooling all the time is submissive.

I looked at the checklist and he has alot of hypersensitivity to oral input but the drooling was on the hyposensitivity side. So alittle confused about that one!