I'm an "old mom". My classically autistic son is now 27. We've been down a very long road and I can tell you that most of the answers here have merit, but are missing the big picture (as I did a decade or two ago). Yes, nail biting can be normal, but maybe it's not, too. Yes, it might indicate anxiety--our kids have a whole lot to be anxious about. Yes, flapping, rubbing, chewing and biting of hands often indicate a sensory problem. No, Prozac is not the answer, no matter how much initial relief--your child and you will pay for this later...really, really pay. (Good for another post some day, but such a long subject....)

But my experience, after many years of making guesses about my own son, found that there had been underlying pain, tingling and numbness in all of his extremities all along. That included his hands, feet, tongue, lips and nose. This neuropathy was very real in spite of the specialists tests that said otherwise. My son didn't know that everyone else didn't feel the same as he did and he didn't have the words to describe what he was feeling anyway. It was the only thing he knew, so to him, it was not unusual. The pain was a constant. The tingling was always there. It was only when that neuropathy suddenly got much worse (and I mean MUCH MUCH WORSE so that he could no longer even hold a fork) at age 13 that we were able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

This not only affected his hands and all the so-called "stimming" activities, but also affected his ability to chew because he couldn't feel the food in his mouth. These symptoms are classic symptoms of mercury poisoning, but also have other causes, too. In my son's case, it was the beginning of our understanding of his profound sensitivity to chemicals and toxins of all kinds because his body was unable to excrete them due to enzymes that have been disabled by mercury and other toxins and a reduced ability genetically to detoxify. Do a google search on PST deficiency.

In those terrible days/months/years things were so bad that I did absolutely everything (but never drugs) to help him. It was so much work, and still is, to get his food, his water, his air and his environment free (or nearly free) of chemical toxins. Let me tell you, when your kid gets to be 220 pounds, stopping that "stimming" or any other behavior that seems troublesome to you now, is an entirely different challenge! By then, you will be successful at nothing without your child's cooperation. And they simply CAN'T cooperate if they feel terrible, if their heads pounds, if their hands tingle and throb. Look at adults with autism and you will see many who have massive callouses where they have chewed their hands. One I know chews to the bone. Drugs didn't fix them, and can't. They can only dull the pain or redirect the suffering in a different way.

One of the biggies that is often overlooked was getting my son off of all fluoridated water, including no meals cooked in it and absolutely no showers or baths in it. Common filters don't touch it. But there are so many other things that also are part of the problem, it's so hard to even begin here.

My son now plays the piano and works at a local community college as an office assistant doing important work, meaningful work, and his hands don't hurt, and he doesn't jump up and down, and he doesn't flap or chew his hands. Okay, so he does some Tarzan yelling at home, but his life is a decent one because we figured out the root of the "sensory" and "anxiety" problems (and a whole lot more!) If I had felt like he did, I would have done much worse.

PLEASE don't let them drug your kids.

Good luck to you all.

MllStephanieh, you are totally correct that MANY people without ASD bite their nails when bored or nervous, and many young children suck their thumb, chew their teddy's arms, etc. When assigning pathology we look at intensity, frequency and duration of behaviors. All, or nearly all, behaviors that children on the spectrum do are done by NT children at some point. The reverse is also true, kids on the spectrum do most of the things NT children do, However, people with ASD do the type of behaviors we consider typical of ASD to a greater degree and do behaviors that tend to be more scarce in ASD to a lesser degree. Duration, as it is used here, can also be a measure of age. Most toddlers that suck their thumbs stop before entering school. If an adult sucks her thumb it is considered unusual.

Add to this idea another generally accepted axiom, "Most people with ASD have Sensory Processing Disorder (or behaviors) but most people with Sensory Processing Behaviors do not have ASD."

If an NT child or adult bites his or her nails, out of boredom or anxiety, it is a stimming behavior, but by itself it does not indicate ASD, or even SPD. Generally she goes through efforts to discontinue the behavior. Biting or sucking of a child's arms or skin is a more severe behavior, though again, how much of a worry it is depends on intensity, frequency and duration. It is a behavior that is found in children with ASD much more often than NT children.

Back to the original question, the oral part seems to have been covered pretty well. You and many others are correct in focusing on redirecting/ changing the behaviors. The first rule of ABA is that one never attempts to eradicate a behavior, because that is logically impossible (too long a discussion for here and now). However, in skimming the other answers I did not see mention of the other half of the sensory behavior. He may also be seeking the tactile input when sucking on his arms or hands. If this is the case you will also need to address tactile sensory seeking behaviors.

I think that it is difficult to determine how much a sensory seeking behavior is due to anxiety. Sometimes it just feels good! So consider the anxiety issue in context with other more obvious emotional indicators if that is a worry of yours.

PAX,
Laurette
BS SS Early Childhood
MS EXE Learning and Behavioral Disorders
Mom to DD, age 5, PDD NOS
DS, age 28, AS (also BS and MS!)

i have chews i use at home i use to chew on my draw strings on my hoodies or cuff of them .i get adjited meds have help pluse i have sencoreny thing to like weighted blanket rocking chair an big ball .but when younger it was bad i blot from trhe room an was aggriverss at times becuse i was so over stim an couldnt tell someone what was wrong .it was hell

I haven't read the other posts to see if these recommendations have already been suggested,but here are mine and we've been there done that!
He's most likely dealing with several things at once, overstimulation and stress, speaking,especially if he is not able to communicate effectively.
-Brushing technique and joint compressions to calm. If he's chewing a lot, I would do this technique several times a day.
-Get him a rebounder (mini-trampoline) and let him just jump, jump, jump!
-It certainly sounds like some oral therapy is in order. An occupational therapist helped us greatly with this.

He will eventually grow out of this if you address the issue with these techniques, at least it did for us. I really don't believe substituting something else will solve anything. It really doesn't address the issue. IT DOES GET BETTER!

This is definitely stimming caused by stress, anxiety, and boredom. It's called dermatilomania and the school has been hammering our daughter over it for years. When she bites her hang nails, she makes herself bleed. The other kids and teacher's are "grossed out" by it, the nurse considers it a bio hazard, and they have threatened to remove her from class if it does not stop. Calling attention to it will make it worse. It is better to find out why the child is stimming and address the trigger. After therapy, mediation, and a hearing with the department of education, the school conducted a class to help the students and staff understand this in the context of anxiety and OCD disorders. Not only has the harassment stopped, but so has the stimming.