Answer Summary

Members responded to a parent seeking advice about their son's compulsion to smell others' feet, a behavior that has intensified and now... Read more

Members responded to a parent seeking advice about their son's compulsion to smell others' feet, a behavior that has intensified and now interrupts social interactions despite the child clearly trying to resist. Several members suggested practical approaches including consulting with a behavioral therapist about redirection strategies, creating social stories to address the behavior (which one parent successfully used when their own child went through a similar phase), exploring whether an OCD medication might help, or trying to redirect the obsession toward something more socially acceptable like scratch-and-sniff stickers or essential oils. A recurring theme was understanding the behavior as likely related to autism spectrum disorder rather than something sexual, with members normalizing sensory-seeking behaviors while also validating the parent's concern about helping their child navigate social appropriateness.