# He's biting his own hand. Why?



## huggingmama (Oct 17, 2005)

DS is a sweet, energetic kid, but he's had (and is having) a difficult time dealing with his emotions, especially in social situations. We had to pull him out of part-time daycare for the summer because of his behavior. We've seen specialists and are pursuing options (maybe speech and occupational therapy), but I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this symptom of hand-biting.

He bites his left hand, at the base of the thumb, when he's especially excited and happy to see others--usually kids and sometimes me. He also leans in very close to the person he's excited about. I think it's a kind of coping mechanism because he knows he's not supposed to bite others... so he bites himself instead. However, if I don't catch him when he leans in and does his hand-biting, he can often progress to pinching the, um, recipient of his affections.

He's had this impulse since he was about a year old--only then it was biting others. He has done the hand biting since about January, then stopped for about a month, and has been doing this again for the past 6 weeks. Since leaving daycare, I am afraid to see any other children with him because of how he'll respond.

I wonder if his return to this behavior could be connected to the fact that he stopped nursing two months ago... I don't know. I'm at a loss.







Any suggestions?


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

It sounds like he has some sensory seeking behavior. My son doesn't bite himself but will hit himself or stomp his feet. OT should help with this and provide alternative things to get the sensory level he needs. I haven't read it but I've seen several recommendations for "the out of sync child". Maybe check it out and see if it fits your son?


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## themamamama (Jul 1, 2006)

Sounds sensory-related to me too. Biting can be very organizing for an oral sensory-seeker. It could very well be related to stopping nursing -- if he was meeting his oral needs by nursing, and has had no other appropriate substitute, he could be returning to biting to meet those needs.

I would also recommend The Out-of-Sync Child (I have read it, and found it very helpful), and also The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun, which has lots of good activities to offer sensory kids. See if you can find some acceptable substitute for him -- if he has a need for sensory input, just asking him to stop biting himself is less likely to be successful than redirecting him to something more appropriate.


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## huggingmama (Oct 17, 2005)

Thanks, mamas! Yes, this makes sense. I have The Out-of-Sync Child but not the other book, which sounds like it would give us some more specific ideas for coping with this.


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## applecider (Jul 16, 2005)

No advice, but I just saw this thread and now I am realizing that maybe the reason DS is LICKING his hands or arm is for the same reasons. He stopped nursing totally a couple weeks ago and also now can't seem to live without his binky. I'm going to check out those books too, hope you find answers!


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## huggingmama (Oct 17, 2005)

Sara, my DS never had a binky (he liked the breast too much







and I couldn't get him interested in one)... but I've been thinking about introducing one now to satisfy some of these urges. His hand gets raw from all the bite marks! Poor guy.

One thing I have tried that's worked somewhat in the past 24 hours is, when he starts to bite the hand, I say "you look like you really need a hug" and give him a big one, usually wrapping his legs around my waist, squeezing him, and rocking back and forth a little. Most of the time I react this way, he really does seem to want the hug, the squeezing, and he'll be very receptive... which is interesting b/c he won't just hug me any old time. He's also been interested more in nuzzling his cheek on my wrist or arm, so I think the connection to lack of nursing is a strong possibility.

Need to get more ideas on the oral substitutes, though.


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