Gum

[Rose-Roget]

I have no idea where to post this, so Mods please move if you feel necessary.

Ds is 6 and recently dx'd with SPD.  One thing he was seeking was oral stimulation, so he was chewing on a lot of things in class that he shouldn't be.  His teacher agreed that sending gum would be a good alternative and it has helped.

Now the best gum we've tried is the ultra sugary Dubble Bubble stuff because it provides a lot of sensory feedback - it's "tougher".  I've also sent Trident that has aspartame (or the like) in it.  I know this seems trivial, but if he's chewing a couple pieces a day, I'm not thrilled with either the ultra sugary nor the aspartame gums!  Does anyone have recs for a more natural, yet still chewy enough gum to provide some good input?  (Nothing Chicklett-sized)

TIA

[PikkuMyy]

I wish I did. I've had students use gum with great success. However, I have not found a natural gum that is firm, nor one that has pieces that are large than tiny ones.

[QueenOfTheMeadow]

 Ds is allergic to  aspartame, so we can't do anything like that.  We've found B Fresh gum to be really helpful.  He chews on his shirt, pencils, grinds his teeth, etc without it.  . http://www.bfreshgum.com/  

http://www.bfreshgum.com/ 

[SpottedFoxx]

I have a son with SPD, CAPD, etc and has been a gum chewer since he was about 3.5 (we were very fortunate to be able to convey the importance of throwing it out vs. swallowing it).  I have issues with aspertane in general and so does my family physician.  We talked and basically she said that the amount in a piece of gum is so negligible (even having several pieces a day) that, barring an actual allergy or behavioral response to it, it shouldn't be an issue. 

[jackson'smama]

my sons both enjoy Glee (which we get at whole foods) - looks like the bigger chicklets and comes in a slim box - several flavors.  They also like teaberry and clove (old gums without aspartame) - we don't do one BIT of aspartame - i'd personally rather have sugar.  the teaberry and clove are harder to find - we either order online or find them at cracker barrel restaurants.

[Village Mama]

My boys like the Glee gum as well. Finally a natural gum without soy! My other son likes the Spry gum... we can get it in a canister of 100 pieces or so.

[Rose-Roget]

Thanks for those references!  I'll try out a couple of different kinds.  A trip to Whole Foods may yield a couple of choices - don't know why it didn't occur to me!  The B-Fresh looks interesting too, but I don't want to spend $30 on gum, if it doesn't do the trick.  It'd be nice if they had a "trial" pack.

Thanks again!

[RiverTam]

If you're okay with Splenda,  Trident for Kids Berry flavor is sugar-less gum and uses Splenda, not aspartame.

[karne]

We're currently using the "layered" gum-I think it might be Trident.  Unfortunately, my child also prefers Double Bubble, but that doesn't work well in school.  We've steered away from anything in the mint family as it brings on an upset stomach.

Can I also just say hooray for gum! I can't believe I didn't ask to have it used sooner.  It has made a tremendous difference.