She has such pretty hair, doesn't she? Unfortunately she has started chewing on it. This is part of autism. It's a self-soothing behavior often referred to as "stimming." Some children rock, some flap, some chew and some do all of those things and more.
Iraq used to suck her thumb. It was her form of stimming, but as she grew older her peers began teasing her for her thumb sucking. (We all know how sweet and accepting children can be... LOL!) In recent months as the school work has become more involved, Iraq's hair has been paying the price. Last Thursday her bus driver, who absolutely adores her, gave her some gum. Within 30 minutes we had a large wad of gum and hair all chewed together. Thankfully I have some hair de-frizzing serum that let me work the gum out (yes - this would be about the 8th time this has happened with Iraq), but I an guarantee it took longer to get the gum out than it did to get it in!
Recent classroom observation by the special-ed staff at Iraq's school found that she is, in fact, stimming in class quite a bit.
I can't be at school to redirect her stimming, but in lieu of sending her off with a pack of gum (ie. "contraband") I have found something called "Chewelry."
I've ordered a pretty, pink heart necklace. I have very high hopes this will spare Iraq's hair from hours of noshing through the day! Not only is this great for kids in the autism spectrum, but I've heard from parents of kiddos with Down syndrome that their kids often have the urge to chew. It hasn't been a problem with The Skink, thankfully - but honestly that's not a huge surprise considering she never allowed anything at all in her mouth until she was almost 2 years old (The Skink had a G-Tube for feeding issues associated with her premature arrival).
So there you have it! We're going to give Chewelry a try.
I also recently made the mistake of putting all of Iraq's clothes back into her room - yes, after her OCD hoarding behaviors led to the wrinkling and near-destruction of much of her wardrobe, her clothes took up residence in the master bedroom for about 6+ months. Not 48 hours after putting her clothes back in her dresser did I find every single item stuffed into one of the 8 drawers! Gah!
We talked about *why* this is not good for the clothes and discussed allowing each type of clothing (pants, shirts, socks, pajamas) to have their own assigned drawer so they could be found quickly and easily.
I'm not holding my breath, but I am hoping. Honestly, we just never know what we'll find in Iraq's room... or where in her room. It's like a strange, Goth Easter egg hunt in which finding an item may bring, joy, relief, frustration or nausea. Just never know!
The Skink, who does not have autism, anxiety, OCD, kleptomania or any of her sister's other major issues, received a purse for Christmas. She loves carrying it around with a set of toy keys, sunglasses and a toy phone it it. Purses are for the little items you value, right? I suppose I shouldn't have been too terribly surprised when I found the remnants of an ice cream cone in there. *sigh* It did give me a great giggle, though!
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