Shirt Chewing and Bitter Apple Spray...

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What about trying different fabrics? Are there any fabrics he doesn't like to chew? Of course, that may bring up a different sensory issue.

My son does the same thing. He's also very destructive around the house - has put holes in walls, furniture, messes up just about anything he touches. It's a problem.

Well, if you consider him a dog you may try the bitter apple spray. I'm old and I still chew my shirts if I'm not observing what I do. I chew the shirts unconsciously but it is awkward to have shirts like that (chewed up). I generally chew pencils or plastic as a somwhat socially acceptable replacement. As a child my guardian threatened to put chicken cr*p on my shirts if I didn't stop. Other than making me puke it didn't have much of a lasting effect. It's not that I want to destroy shirts it's just a better alternative to not chewing on the shirt.

Really though, I would have a hard time believing that even if you bought a new shirt every school day it would be over 100 dollars a month.

It's probably not that he chose not to obey but it's just how he is.

Shirts are $5-10 each. He destroys 4-6 shirts a week. Do the math.

And I won't accept that it is simply "how he is". Others here have stopped, he can too. When he was younger before I met him, when he got angry, his first instinct was to smash things. Well, smash OTHER peoples things. Through punishment, he learned to correct that behavior of "how he was". This isn't much different. I want to have him redirect his behavior.

We tried it this weekend, btw. Works like a charm. He gets angry at first, and begs not to have it put on his shirt, but after one time putting the bitter material in his mouth, he gagged, spat, complained, then the rest of the day he used his chewy necklace.

Have you tried ordering chew necklaces and encouraging the use of that. They also have pencil toppers for in school. My son had the same issue and it went down drastically when he started wearing his necklace. For the first week i kept him within seeing distance and wore one of my own as much as possible and anytime i would see him chewing i would say a firm but gentle no honey please dont chew on your shirt use your necklace instead like this and id put mine in my mouth. A friend of mine did it this way but also added the spray on the areas of his shirt he chews on as a deterent basically. Good luck!! !