Oral Defensiveness

Another type of sensory issue is oral defensiveness. The common symptoms of a child with oral defensiveness include:

• Picky eater…avoids certain textures, temperatures, or flavors of food 
• Gags easily or gags with certain food textures or smells
• Difficulty sucking, chewing, or swallowing 
• Chokes easily 
• Avoids/dislikes toothbrushing or facewashing
• Dislikes going to the dentist 
• Avoids/dislikes getting hands or face messy  
• Inappropriate tasting or mouthing of non-food items

Activities to address oral defensiveness:

• Use pretend shaving cream or whipped cream and let your child pretend to “shave” or put on make-up using a popsicle stick  
• Use soap crayons or face paints to paint your child’s face. Avoid the eye area and always test for allergies first.  
• Blowing bubbles or whistles  
• Rubbing the face, around the mouth, with cloths of different textures of fabrics (like satin, velvet, etc.).  
• Have your child name and touch the various parts of his or her face while looking in the mirror 
• Imitate different tongue and lip movements, and/or speech sounds. You can exaggerate the movements for demonstration
• Make a “bubble” face by closing your lips tightly and puffing your cheeks out with air and pop the “bubble” by poking your cheeks with your hands.  
• Before eating or drinking, use your own hands or a soft cloth to gently tap or pat around your child’s mouth  
• Introduce one food item at a time  
• Provide as much positive reinforcement during mealtime as possible...stickers, songs, etc.
• Use a soft toothbrush to gently brush across the tongue and the sides of the mouth  
• Use a vibrating toothbrush – let your child hold it and bring it up to their face rather than you doing it.