I read a post recently about kids chewing on their clothes and other things. My 12 year old chews on a lot of things. My question is though, do any of you have a problem with a terrible smell. Everything he chews on smells so badly immediately. His teeth are brushed every morning, night and after meals so its not that his teeth aren't being taken care of. Any explanations or hints out there.

My other question pertains to the fact that our son is not living with us. We live in a very small, remote town and our school couldn't provide for him. He has been at this new school for 2 1/2 years now. Has anyone else had to deal with this? He's doing very well, much better than here, it's just hard on the family. A lot of times you see stories about families dealing with their kids with special needs and I feel guilty that our son isn't with us but I know he is learning so much more and progressing so well there.

By Marcia on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 09:37 pm:

Oh ya, Sonja often had that drool smell on her face and hands. I was constantly putting nice smelling creams on her hands and face. Her teeth were also well taken care of, but her mouth was always open. That increased drooling, and I'm sure it contributed to the odor. My 10 year old has low tone, and her mouth is also always open. She has a real problem with her breath. While she doesn't drool or chew anything, it's very noticeable.

Four of our kids have come to us through specialized care fostering. Their parents, all for different reasons, decided that they couldn't parent these kids full time. The parents have all provided me with weekend respite - some weekly, some biweekly and some monthly. It's such a personal decision, and not one that anyone can judge you for making. The kids that have lived with us have all done very well here. As long as your son is happy and is doing well, keep focusing on that.

By Saveymom on Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 10:27 pm:

Thanks for the info. Nice to hear we are not the only ones dealing with such issues, which we know we are not. Our biggest reason for sending Casey to this specialized school was because here he was never with a professional that had a degree. He was always with somebody off the street that needed a job. The teachers would look in on him and be on a consult basis but I think we all know that is not enough with kids with special needs. Our hope is to bring him back but I just think with the way our school system is that will never happen. Maybe something miraculous will happen and we can move closer to him. But for now he is improving greatly, he is happy and thank goodness he does not have a concept of time so he doesn't know if its been 1 day or 1 month since we were there. He is for the most part nonverbal but he can say mama, dada and baba but they don't always mean for those things. They do tell us though that if it has been too long since we were there, about 3 weeks, then he starts doing his mama's more than before. So that's good.