Hi there just a few questions – did this child ever suck his thumb/fingers??? Does he hold grudges? Show resentment or feel it but attempt to cover it up? Does he swear? Have strong body odours? Empathetic to underdogs? This quirky behavior rings bells with me and a possible remedy if the other factors are there also. I feel that it is a behavior that if not addressed in a complete manner it can possibly lead to the adoption of smoking as an alternative to it as he grows older and more independent of others influences. The oral stimulation/anxiety/concentration link can be very strong. EFT is another good possibility for eradicating it without transferring it to another form of oral stimulation. Regards Pauline
From: 
minutus@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
minutus@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of olofgrace
Sent: Sunday, 26 August 2007 5:51 AM
To: 
minutus@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Minutus] Re: Chewing plastics
Thanks for the thoughts. I know plastic is not good for him to chew, 
that's why I'm seeking advice to help stop it. 
As for him seeking my approval with his chewing (??!?!), or worries 
over ridicule by other kids, these fall wide of the mark. We adopted 
him and he has been doing the oral stim thing long before he came 
into our lives. We homeschool, and he has lots of friends who 
fortuately are not into ridiculing one another. And yes, of course I 
have talked with him about it over and over. What I mean by not 
begrudging his oral stim need is from research I've done that shows 
some kids need/take time to develop proper sensitivity with their 
sensory issues -- some kids are overly sensitive, some kids "underly" 
so -- and he falls in to the latter description. What I mean is I'm 
not going to force him to do something for social reasons while 
ignoring underlying health/medical reasons at hand. Seems to me 
filling what his body needs will make the other thing far easier to 
curtail. I believe he is doing it for a reason connected with what 
his body needs, and I include his thought processes when I say body.
His birthmother, by the way, chewed plastics well into adulthood. 
Honestly, do none of you out there ever chaw on a pen cap? Is it 
that rare? He doesn't suck things, he chews off bits and spits them 
out, or just chews them into a different shape.
He does not act like a boy without confidence, but I know he is a 
perfectionist. Maybe there is something there. He is what Mary 
Sheedy Kurcinka calls a "spirited child". Loud, energetic, 
unflaggingly social, a leader, irregular in his body clock, hard 
adapting to change, sensitive emotionally, very "right brained". He 
chews most when he is thinking, trying to figure things out.
Homeopathy works so well for him in other things I was hoping this 
would ring a bell for something.
Thanks
M