Mouth Stuffing, Eating Too Fast & Autism

Many toddlers engage in mouth stuffing behavior as they grow accustomed to eating solid foods. Cramming food into their mouths provides them with essential information regarding the size of their mouths, where their cheeks are, how different foods feel in their mouths, and how to use their tongues to aid in chewing and swallowing. 

However, when children still engage in food cramming behaviors at mealtime past approximately two years old, this could be an indicator of sensory or motor issues associated with eating. In this blog post, we review different reasons for mouth stuffing and rapid eating behaviors, as well as methods for reducing these behaviors. 

Mouth Stuffing & Autism/Sensory Sensitivity

Sensory needs can create sensitivities surrounding many daily experiences, and mealtime is no exception. If your child tends to stuff his or her mouth at mealtime, this may signal a desire for sensory stimulation and could be a result of sensory sensitivities associated with autism or other developmental challenges. 

Cramming food and/or not chewing bites well before swallowing can occur as a result of oral hyposensitivity (low oral sensitivity). Children who cram food tend to not feel the bites they take unless they have a large amount of food in their mouths. 

Likewise, if you find food in your child’s mouth after mealtime is over, he or she may lack oral spatial awareness. 

Mouth Stuffing & Motor Skills

Alternatively, mouth stuffing can be a symptom of motor skill issues; in this case, poor tongue control or lack of tongue strength. As such, when a lot of food is in a child’s mouth, very little tongue movement is possible!

Tips to Reduce Mouth Stuffing

1. Cut your child’s food into small pieces and instruct him to eat once piece at a time, with a pause between pieces. 
2. Help your child count a certain number of chews before she swallows. Ex. “Let’s count six chews for each bite!”
3. Only put a few small pieces of food on your child’s plate at a time.
4. Give your child a smaller utensil to use; this will help reduce the size of each bite.
5. Foods and drinks that shock the palate can help sensory seekers feel the quantity of food in their mouths at mealtime. Consider incorporating icy and/or fizzy drinks, spicy foods, cold foods, sticky foods (like peanut butter!), and crunchy foods into your child’s meals. 
6. Set a small mirror on the table and encourage your child to use it to look at the inside of his or her mouth after bites and at the end of the meal. This provides your child with the opportunity to learn what an empty mouth looks and feels like. 
   
   

Eating Too Fast and Autism

According to the NIH, eating too fast is common in people with developmental challenges. There is strong anecdotal evidence that people on the autism spectrum face difficulties with rapid eating. Side effects include vomiting, aspiration, weight gain, choking, and social stigma. 

Eating too fast can also be a symptom of increased appetite due to medications or an emotional response. Getting to the root of the issue will help determine the best course of action. 

How to Reduce Rapid Eating

To help reduce rapid eating, there are some cues you can work on with your child to help slow down mealtime: 

1. Work with your child on putting utensils down between bites. 
2. Reduce the amount of food on your child’s plate, providing additional helpings as needed.
3. Observe how long your child reasonably needs to appropriately chew and swallow a bite. You can set a timer for this interval to help your child set a benchmark for the appropriate duration to consume each bite of food. 
4. A device like a MotivAider pager can help reinforce healthy mealtime pacing by setting vibration intervals at pace with healthy bite durations once a benchmark is established as described above. 
5. If there are certain foods that trigger fast eating, keep them out of reach when you are not present to regulate them.
6. Non-food-related incentives are also a great way to help children learn new skills. Try offering your child the opportunity to play his or her favorite game or watch an episode of a favorite show for each meal with successfully-paced eating. 

If your family is seeking help with feeding or motor skills, contact us to get started.

Photo by cottonbro studio.