Saturday, January 26, 2013

Ellie's Chewy Necklaces, Chewelry, and What is that around her neck?!

"What is that in her mouth?!"


one and two and three little chewy tubes!
"What do you mean there is something in my mouth?"
(Top Right: how adorable is that picture?--Ellie with Jack-A-Roo holding hands)



Many of you may have noticed in previous posts that Ellie is wearing one or two or seven brightly colored stretchy necklaces and have asked me what they are for and where to get them.  These necklaces are therapeutic chewy necklaces or chewelry which are used to satisfy Ellie's oral sensory cravings.

These necklaces are great for children who:

  • chew on their clothing
  • chew on their hair
  • chew on objects, toys, furniture
  • frequently bite, chew, grind teeth, or fidget
    • typically seen among toddlers
    • kids with autism, ADHD, ADD, Sensory Processing Disorder [SPD]
    • and other developmental or neurological disorders
  • need to "wake up" their oral motor muscles for eating


I have written a more detailed post on the various chewy tubes for oral aversion, oral seeking, increasing oral motor muscle strength, and speech development.  These posts can be found here and here.





Ellie has extensive oral seeking behaviors.  She must always have something in her mouth.  She typically has toys, books, paper, writing implements, and even the edges of furniture in her mouth.  She is attempting to satisfy some oral need and she is not teething.   These behaviors have affected her play and they have affected her socially.

"Ellie, we don't want to play with you anymore.  You chew on our toys."  "Ellie ate my book!"

Believe me, I understand because these other kiddos are past the eating chalk stage.  They are past gnawing on toys.  Yet, my daughter is still in that stage and is destroying their toys or at the very least leaving a long string of spittle on their dolls or blocks.  Antibodies anyone?

So you mean biting the playground equipment is not socially acceptable?

The chewy necklaces have really helped Ellie.  She can chew on her necklace while listening to a book.  Yes, she can listen to a book now!  She can chew on it while building a block tower.  She can chew on it while coloring.  Now, mind you, she does need reminders occasionally because those crayons or that playground equipment look(s) oh so tasty.  Yet, all you have to say is "Ellie, use your chewy" and she pops that necklace right into her mouth.

Ellie is a thrower and a climber.  We have lost many chewy tubes due to throwing.  Ellie has nearly injured a few innocent bystanders with a flying P-Tube or Tri-Chew.  These necklaces allow her to chew while leaving both hands free for climbing.

Chewy Tubes R Us: Tri-Chew, P-Tube, Chew-Ease, Chewy Necklace


They are also stylish.  Well, in my opinion they are not, but all the little kids are the playground beg my daughter to share her necklaces with them.  "Ellie, can I have one?  Can you share with me?" My daughter, ever the fashionista. The cool toddler on the block.  The trend setter!

We buy our chewy necklaces from National Autism Resources.  You can get the necklace + bracelet in the color blue on Amazon.com but I am paranoid about the bracelet.  I can just picture Ellie strangling herself with the bracelet.  Plus, my spoiled little Bearity Bear likes to tell me what color she wants to wear each day. . . .er colors.

Goodness!  I know that I have at least two more of these!  A purple and a white, perhaps.


Because one chewy just isn't enough and because the Bear must wear the color  or colors that suit her ever changing mood, we bought our in batches (you can do one, 3, or 7).  Because it would be such a shame to own more than one color and *gasp* be missing one of the colors of the rainbow, we specified our color choice in the "comments" section during the online check out.

For an added sensory punch, place these bad boys in the fridge for a few minutes. . . or if you are Ellie Bear, the freezer.  Yes, she does this herself, Little Miss Independent.


Don't mind me. . . just working on those thigh muscles.



That's right, we own all 7 colors.  Pink has been discontinued much to the Bear's dismay.  So. . . if anyone happens to come across a pink one, please alert me!


What about blankie?  I can still chew on my blankie, right?


Photobucket

15 comments:

  1. Love that she can't just "chews" one! Those pictures are too cute/funny!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just your wait! Arlynn is going to be a little diva who needs multiple "accessories"!

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  2. Does she grind her teeth at all or are you super-mom at cutting that off w/the chewelry? My girl likes the orange (only the orange! Not the other 3 colors I bought!) T thing from Talk Tools, on an retractable clip, but I think I'll try these. She won't always use it & her poor little teeth... ugh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She does grind occasionally! The chewy helps. Btw, the orange is her favorite. Requests it every single day until she discovered where I was hiding the other chewies. Sadly, the orange one bit the dust. . . she went to school with it one day and it didn't return home with her. What is so specially about the orange?

      Have you tried the Vibrating Star Teether by First Years? Ellie really liked it but she also likes to throw. . .

      Delete
  3. Hello Anna, I enjoyed your informative and entertaining post. Are you familiar with the sensory oral-motor tools, KidCompanions Chewelry, made in Canada and sourced in Canada and the USA, CE marked, and sold to the world at http://kidcompanions.com ? They are often recommended by health professionals and parents because our stylish, wearable or attachable chewy fidgets are age-appropriate and allow the user to blend in. It is SAFE: bpa, phthalate, pvc, lead and latex free. KidCompanions Chewelry comes on a 100% organic cotton lanyard with a child safety clasp or with a clip. Lanyards available are undyed 100% organic cotton or colourful lanyards in 100% organic cotton, hand-dyed and pre-washed with plant-based ingredients.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there! This sounds rather intriguing. The attachable chewy fidgets do sound like something Ellie would possibly use. Would you like to make a deal? Provide one for free or at a discount and I will write up a review? My email address is located at the top of the blog under "contact"

      Delete
  4. She is a great spokes girl for the product with all those adorable pictures. Love the short hair too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks Anna, I will email you with suggestions on "a deal" we can make regarding Ellie trying out our different chewy called KidCompanions Chewelry.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is really interesting take on the concept.I never thought of it that way. I came across this site recently which I think it will be a great use of new ideas and informations regarding Chewing necklace. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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  8. Very well done! Absolutely brilliant information. I had love the Kids Chew Necklaces for my children. They having the problem of chewing. This product helps him a lot.

    ReplyDelete
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