If he's oral sensory seeking (putting objects in his mouth to an extent that's not age appropriate), you can look into fulfilling those needs through other alternatives and/or a sensory diet. Try to get an OT on board.
Hang in there.
Carol
I don't know which state you are in but I know when we went through the evaluation process with my second son they put us in a little earlier because we already had one child on the spectrum. We still had to wait like six months to get in which was shorter than with my first son we waited 18 months to even have a developmental ped. see him. (i was much happier with six months) A couple things you can try that we do with the boys is an electric toothbrush, different textured foods (cheetos-crunchy, pudding-soft, peanut butter-creamy, pickles-bumpy,etc.) It tends to help the chewing need and the sensory so they are not putting things in there mouth the shouldn't. Good luck hope you can get things moving soon.
What a shock the penny incident must have been for you. Tom likes to mouth things and got hold of a ten pence piece once. Luckily the items rarely go in his mouth completely and it's not constant, more like just a couple of times a day, but it's still scary when it happens.It was a shock and i tend to panic a bit, My stress level is high as it is, when things like that happen i flip, my heart starts racing and i think the worse.
I need to calm down
I actually let my ds have a pacifier until he was almost five - that way I
i am currently waiting for eval for my 3 1/2 year old son timmy. I just can't wait any longer, i put a call into ped, to try and speed things up because this morning he got ahold of a penny and choked on it, i had to do heimlich finally he threw up and out came a penny..... he cried a bit after but only for a minute or two, then laughed and acted as though he would do it again without a thought.
Meanwhile Michael 4 asd, was hysterically laughing at the whole thing, I just don't know what to do, I'v childproofed beyond what would be reasonable at this age, they works all the locks and just find ways to get to things.
what can i do.??????
Ran across this today:
What do you do about the child who puts lots of things that are not edible in his
mouth?
Autism SA Information Sheet 19 Eating difficulties December 2004
Remember that mouthing is a normal developmental stage that most children go through
at a young age. Your child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder may do this later than other
children, so don't panic. Just accept it as a normal developmental stage that will pass. Some children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder eat grass and other plants. Make sure
there are no dangerous plants in your garden. Any nursery or the Department of
Agriculture should be able to advise you if you have any doubts. Offer substitutes if you see
your child eating plants, for example a piece of fruit (but not chips, chocolate). Generally
eating garden plants does not appear to have any ill effects on a child, though it does not
do much for the garden.
Try ignoring the behaviour. It may be that your over-the-top reaction to a child mouthing
his sleeves is enough to keep him doing it, just to check how you'll react.
If your child is chewing collars and cuffs of clothing to the point where clothes are
becoming very frayed, or are constantly soggy, you can try painting the collar or cuffs with
a solution that is used to stop people biting their fingernails (available from chemists). It
tastes very bitter, and may be enough to remind the child of what he is doing. Chewing
may have become a habit he is not even aware of, very much like some people who chew
their nails.
Try to avoid the situation and break the habit. For example put your child in shirts or
jumpers that do not have a collar.
The chewing may come and go, and be a sign that something is not right. It could be a
result of stress, which is a problem for most children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder,
so look at what may be causing the situation and try to change that. The chewing may just
mean that your child is getting more teeth.
Source: http://www.autismsa.org.au/pdf/strategies/IS19_Eating_diffic ulties.pdf