Perching

So, let me explain how Owen copes with his physical issues. He has a need to soothe himself and he usually does this is some physical way (the soothing is a result of anxiety or sometimes boredom).

We really started noticing the behaviors at the beginning of 1st grade, he began sucking and chewing on objects. YES, sucking and chewing on things… your thoughts are the same as mine, “how disgusting”. Fortunately the things he chewed on were confined to the things that were in his hands or on his person. Like his shirt collar, or his hands (his poor hands were so chapped and battered). I say fortunately because I'm trying to see the bright side, I'm sure it could be more disgusting, right? He chewed the plastic coating off of the wire that connects the Wii remote to the nunchuck. We started sending an extra shirt with him to school because his shirt would be soaked by lunch time. Instead of nagging him to stop we decided to make him comfortable and it eventually evolved into a different method of coping (slighting more socially acceptable).

The chewing and sucking has become what I call perching. Instead of sitting he squats with his knees pressed against his chest, his body almost in a ball, sometimes his shirt will be pulled over his knees holding him in this position. He will sit like this on the floor, on the couch, on a bar stool, in a booth at a restaurant. His therapists tell me he probably likes the pressure on his body (like he's giving himself a hug or something) I can buy into that, I like hugs. And it's not as bad as sucking on stuff, it's ruining his shirts, but it's a small price to pay if he's happy.