Chewing on shirts

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My son can do the same with a pack of gum.

Our son 7 seems to have only taken this up in the last 6 months as a full time thing.

Before that, it was sporadic.

It does seem to be a kind of stimming but it's not a great social one - gum would be better.

I did this with long sleeve shirts up until I was a preteen. I only did it when I had anxiety though.

I will have too put my hand up for this one too!

I chewed and sucked on shirt collars, tails, sleeves and ties (we had to wear ties to school), as well as the draw strings on windcheaters, also pens, pencils and rulers (wooden ones) right through school.

I never really thought about it until now but I do not remember when I stopped the shirt and tie chewing – I was certainly chewing pens at work well into my thirties!

I did this alot at one point. Mom did NOT approve.

Recently my three-year-old has been chewing his coat. I was wondering if its related.

I used to rip holes in my school uniform when I was at highschool. I think it was mostly when I was bored.

Yeah, often. Partly out of habit (I have too many similar habits to count), and partly because my bottom teeth are on the crooked so I often have to chew on something to prevent myself from biting my lip.
I once even chewed on the wood from my bed. Mom was really angry at me.

I chewed all my school shirts - mainly the buttons - and I also managed to inadvertently chew thumbholes in my jumper. I'll chew almost everything within reach. I've no idea why though, probably boredom.

I mainly chewed on my shirt collar and sleeves and drawstrings when I was concentrating on something.
The funny thing is I hated the feeling of the shirt when it got moist and touched my skin. So I would sit there chewing on it while trying to keep it dry and then stretch it out even more to keep it from touching me. I would usually take off the shirt if I was at home after chewing on it. I never thought about just chewing something that I wasn't wearing, but maybe the pressure of the collar at the back of my neck was part of why I did it.

my son was doing that yesterday during his session with his psychologist. she asked him a question and he immediately started chewing on his collar.

I use to do this all the time, stopped around 14ish. Mom kept getting mad when I would walk around the house with my collar all stretched and wet. I did at one point suck on wet rags, but it wasn't as recently or as often as the shirt. Never chewed on my sleeves though...

The controllers for my PS2 have teethmarks on them. I'd relatively frequently(much moreso than an average student, but not quite often enough to qualify as 'stimming') chew on pens/pencils while in class from school all the way through college. Cheving on empty aluminum soda cans is also satisfying, but you have to be careful not to cut your mouth, lips, or tongue when tearing them apart with your teeth.

I used to do this when I was younger. I would sometimes nibble/suck on my shirts.

My son is a 'chewer'. I have to watch him carefully to make sure he doesn't chew dangerous things.
His OT said I am right in getting him 'chew toys' like teething toys altho I am getting close to getting him dog toys to chew.
He has moved away from chewing his clothing thankfully but every now and again he will still chew his shirt or top, I just get him something more acceptable.

Well I used to chew on my jersey sleeve when I was aged 1-10. I did that all through my primary school years...as far as I can remember, a lot of people did this at my school...I don't think it's that "abnormal".

My 9 year old (with Asperger's) chews on the collars of his school uniforms - I think it's stress related.

It's very frustrating because he's the oldest of 3 boys and I can't hand down his shirts to his brothers because they're so ratty.

Helen