Welcome to the forum! This link has various products for oral stimulation, and the website is well worth browsing at -- lots of good information on sensory issues.
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/oral-sensitivitie s.html
I think some people on this forum have had success with zinc supplements helping with oral sensory-seeking, too.
Good luck with everything.
I would suggest a chewie. They work faboulously and it has stopped my son from chewing on his clothes. The are just a thin rubber tubing if you ask the school or your therapist they can get you one that you can tie to a string either on her wrist or on a necklace. My sons is in necklace form that way when he is craving that oral sensory he can chew on that rather than his clothes. The other thing you can get that is iinexpensive is an electric toothbrush. The standard 4.99 work great and offer the sensory input that they are craving. My ex-husband who I am pretty sure has an undiagnosed ASD still chews on his shirts to this day at 30 years old! My 11 yo son started chewing/picking his clothes apart last year and I talked to the teacher and principal and got a gum exception. It was simple, esp. since he has the 504. They had tried things to occupy his hands (a squeezy thing), since he also picked a lot, at not just his clothes, but his skin too, but I realized a lot of it is the mouth problem. As it turns out, he did not use the gum as much as I hoped. But he is now doing somewhat better. We give him stars on his star chart for not picking/chewing, and he earns prizes. We also let him chew and pick apart one particular old blanket of his at home, and let him know that, that is okay, but not destroying other things. He is a lot older than your daughter, though, and he still does pick now and then. just some ideas. good luck.
[QUOTE=lollipopwp]In a similar vein- has anyone dealt with a child with autism who will not drink and doesn't get thirsty? My daughter will drink almost nothing by choice. In Disneyworld this summer, she nearly passed out from dehydration. She would mouth the bottle of water, but not drink it.
She is an extremely obedient kid, and will drink if I "command" her to, but it is worrisome that she does not get the message from her body to drink.[/QUOTE]
My daughter is the same way, with hunger as well... and sleep... and potty... and and and. She doesn't get those body messages so I have to be vigilant about making sure her body gets/does what it needs. She could go days without sleeping if not given the bedtime routine, but if given the opportunity will sleep and sleep. Same with eating & drinking & she HAS been hospitalized for dehydration when she 3. She doesn't have accidents so she's 'considered' potty trained by anything that matters at this point but she doesn't tell us & I'm pretty sure it's because she doesn't feel it. She will hold for hours...
(She too is very oral but doesn't chew on her clothes, if she doesn't have an appropriate 'chewer' she'd prefer to chew on her fingers or arms...)
Thanks to both of you (WIMomOf2 and NorwayMom). I will try some of the suggestions on the SPD site and talk to her dentist as well. Her grandmother buys her some pretty swanky clothes and my wife is getting a little upset at the shark treatment.It's pretty common for people with autism to miss or misinterpret their body's signals. My 9 year old (atypical autism) takes off his clothes indoors in the winter, saying he's hot -- when really he's cold and is GLAD when I cover him with a blanket. My 6 year old (social delays, no diagnosis) has virtually never said he was hungry or suggested a snack. He only realizes he's hungry when I offer him food.
As far as I know, the only thing to do is to build routines, habits and strategies to help the child compensate for this lack of clear feedback from his/her body.
Fruit and frozen juice pops are also good sources of fluid.
Good luck with everything.
My six yr old little girl, very high functioning, is new to kindergarten and has suddenly developed the urge to chew her clothes. Does anyone know of an oral stimulation device that is discreet? We don't really want one of those "T" bars hanging out of her mouth, but we'd also like to abide by the school's "no gum" policy if we can. Anyone had any luck with extinction of this behavior?