Oral Seeking Strategies

• Frequently putting objects in the mouth 

• Biting or chewing on non-food items (clothing, toys, pencils)

• Excessive licking or sucking behaviour

• Mouthing fingers or hands

• Chewing on clothing or blankets

Providing safe oral sensory activities like chewable jewlery, oral motor toys and crunchy/sour food can be great alternative when a child is oral seeking on non-food items. See below for additional equipment options that can be considered for different areas of development. 

• Traditional 'Chewlery', often worn as a necklace with a chewable pendant, is not recommended prior to age 3 due to chocking risk. It is important to ensure they are large enough to reduce choking risk. 

• When biting or chewing behaviour is observed, provide a durable alternative for chewing that has different textures for oral sensory stimulation to reduce chewing behaviours. 

• Age appropriate and safe Chewable options can include the following products: 'Chewy Tubes' or 'Super Chews'. These items can be effective with consistent redirection over a sustained period of time as great they can reach the back molars, have various textured options available. 

• When mouthing on environmental objects is observed, provide the sensory replacement immediately after, reinforcing that they can chew on this as a safe way to chew instead of not chewing on "blank".

• If your child is chewing on non-food items in their environment, trial providing a sensory replacement that is safe to chew on. 

• To increase access, Chewlery can be an effective as it can be worn on the child for easy use as needed. This can be in the form of a breakaway necklace, clip lanyard on their clothing, or a bracelet. 

• Beaded chewlery necklaces have multiple beads that can be softer or "chewier". 

• A pendant style chewlery can provide many different shapes and images to match their interests, as well as have different textures, or hardness. Pendant style chewlery that is firm can be beneficial for very hard chewers due to increased durability.  

• When chewing behaviour is observed, redirect the child to the Chewlery they are wearing, referring to this as a "this is a safe option for chewing". Continue to redirect immediately as needed. This takes consistency and persistence to become a learned behaviour and part of his routine.

• Crunchy, chewy, or highly textured foods provide more sensory feedback to assist with meeting chewing needs throughout the day. 

  • Examples can include such as carrots, celery, crackers, or granola bars. 

• Temperature changes in food can also add sensory stimulation, such as providing frozen fruits or vegetables.  

  • Other examples can include:

    • Freezies and/or popsicles

    • Drinking a smoothie 

    • Drinking ice cold water 

• You can try drinking colder liquid through a straw as well for added oral sensory input through sucking on a straw.