|
11-7-00 Question 46
Dear Preschool Teacher,
Please give me some tips on how to handle biting.
We have a special needs child that often bites instead of communicating
verbally. We monitor the child closely but he strikes the minute we
are distracted.
Frustrated over biting
Dear Frustrated
over biting,
A year ago I
had a Biter. The thing we found that worked the best I gave him a
teething rind made into a necklace to wear at school. We then
encouraged him to bite the teether instead of others. It worked great
after about two weeks.
Sherri
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
Dear Frustrated
over biting,
I work at a center in a preschool special education
class. (I'm not sure of the functioning level of your student). Our students
are profoundly developmentally delayed. Therefore, a lot of our
students have "oral issues". If they don't bite, many are
constantly "teething" on their hands, etc. The OT (occupational
therapist) keeps advising a teether (we use gummy yummy from Discover Toys -
unfortunately, they don't make it anymore.) Another idea is something called
a NUK brush. It is similar to a toothbrush with plastic nubs instead
of bristles. Both help with oral stimulation - to eventually stop the
mouthing. You might want to give it a try. If anything, it will
"redirect" that action in to more appropriate behavior.
Hope this helps,
Annie
"Ask the Preschool Teacher" Staff
|