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Problems With Putting Too Much Food Into Mouth?
A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question 💭

Does anyone else have a problem with their kids putting too much food in their mouth at once? Little Man will literally put almost an entire half sandwich in his mouth at once and then try to chew it up. Is this an autism/sensory thing? That possibility just occured to me today but I don't know if there's actually a connection there. Anyone else have experience with this?

posted August 7, 2013
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A MyAutismTeam Member

This is a sensory issue. There are oral excercises your occupational therapist can help you with on this issue. Some things like drinking with straws, blowing bubbles or balloons before eating can decrease this. There are special vibrating oral devices that can help too. the z vibe I think it is called. If you are not seeing an ot u can get a referral to one for this specific issue. Make sure you tell your doc you are afraid of the choking issue. I had to do the heimlich manuver onece on my son. I would recommend a cpr class also. it just helps know what to do if they do choke. Hope this helps. also tell the school to put it in his iep that he is at risk for choking so he is watched closer at school.

posted August 11, 2013
A MyAutismTeam Member

My son does this. His therapists have said that it's most likely because he can't feel that his mouth is full. Something about the back teeth, and a sensory thing. My son also chews on everything and anything. We have him chewy tubes that he's able to chew on so they hit the back teeth. They said doing that, massaging his gums, and just telling him no, should help him. We've been having issues with him doing this for a year now. But, we make sure to tell him not to do that everytime, doesn't always work, but sometimes it does.

posted August 7, 2013
A MyAutismTeam Member

My son used to do this, but in the past several months this has stopped. We did/still do the oral stimulation (described by Twinmom123 above), but I think the thing that really "turned the page" was having my son practice "washing his food down" after each bite - so he'd take a bite of food and I'd say, "put down your food and wash it down" and I'd get him to alternate between food and drink. This seems a little excessive at first (lots of action), but he got the hang of it. He thought the term "wash it down" was really a funny thing to say, so I think the humor component really helped out here as an added "encouragement". Now when he gets a little too much in his mouth, he recognizes it, puts down his food and takes a little drink.

posted August 12, 2013
A MyAutismTeam Member

My son did that and because he was always on the run steeling it out of the fridge and cramming it in his mouth to get away with it often it was even harder to monitor. Cutting it up is a good thing and making him sit down to regular meals with me helped some but I think it is an autism thing. I worried about him choking all the time but I found making him have snacks that were good for him and Mom was OK with made it easier to cut up in a bag for him to reach in and grab...but I guess you have to see what works for you. My son was not picky and ate us out of house and home so to speak so what worked for him may not be the same for a picky eater. I think it is a sensory processing thing. My son could bring home half of the playground pebbles in his shoes and not feel it and he didn't feel cold when he played in the snow and would come in so red and cold. He cried when he found a dot of ketchup on his leg (real drama)and went ballistic until we wiped it off and he stopped, turned off the tears and went back to play. He always has to have bandaids maybe as a comfort strip or something. His sensory was always out of sorts either "over the top", or "not at all". He never really savored the food experience or was real discerning either, but there are plenty of kids who are the opposite and hate textures and tastes too.

posted August 7, 2013
A MyAutismTeam Member

Yes, my son did the same thing. He would shove the food all in his mouth at once. I would have to give him little by little. I would cut up his sandwhiches in little squares & hand him one by one. He is doing better now. But I cannot give him a lot on his plate still. He still cannot have a whole sandwhich at once. I use to have to cut up his chicken nuggets too. But now with the chicken nuggets he takes small bites at a time dunking each bite in ketchup. It has gotten better in time. I think the older they get the better they are at pacing themselves when eating.

posted August 7, 2013

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