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Hi there. First post. Transitioning problems and Saliva retention?

Helge

Hi Everyone. I would be ever so grateful if someone could shed some light on a problem, please. For the last couple of years my 16 year old daughter has has serious transitioning problems whereby she will go forwards and backwards many times before entering a room (often enertring backwards), going up stairs, getting in & out of a car etc. She has to perform a ritual of hopping up & down, leaning back,  and psyching herself up to do it.  She often resets herself by taking a couple of steps backwards, and will turn light switches on/off many times when entering/leaving a room. Its like a form of OCD, and I am thinking maybe anxiety driven. During the last 2 years she has also taken to withholding her saliva in her mouth, until it is full, and then she proceeds to deposit all the collected saliva onto the back of her hand, to then run down her arm! Very unsightly! We have been to the GP and tried various medicines, botox injected into the saliva glands etc but not effect. She has also tried taking gaviscon continuously for a fortnight in case her condition was gastro related, again without success at all. She is currently on the waiting list for an endoscopy to investigate matters further. Anyone else had similar experiences?

Parents

  • The first behaviours you describe certainly sound like they could be OCD and very likely anxiety driven. Have you spoken to your GP about that?

    Can your daughter explain why she is doing the saliva thing? Is it something she can't help? Is it a compulsion? Is it actually something sensory? The doctors seem to be treating it as a physical condition but I'm wondering whether it's not? I'm not medically trained so can't give medical advice but I have met quite a few autistic children who spit or similar due to either the sensory experience or trying to avoid the sensory feeling in their mouth. I just wonder whether it may be similar?

  • in reply to Expecto_Patronum

    Thanks sooooo much for your reply. GP has made a referral to CAMMS (still waiting). We visited a private psychiatrist who has prescribed Sertraline for the last year, which seemed to calm both actions down a bit, but its now creeping back. He was pediatrically trained, although not with an ASD background. He did not seem to think it was OCD based. Due to her autism, we would not get a clear answer from our daughter if she was asked why she does these things, and there is a good chance she would not know why she does it anyway. Its a full on compulsion which she cannot help doing. She has also recently taken to running her hand under any water tap she passes, to replicate the feeling of the saliva on her arm, I am guessing! She also puts her fingers down her throat quite often when her anxiety levels are running very high. Hoping the endoscopy will answer the last question remaining if the condition is medically related or not, rather than sensory/mental. I do not think she minds the feeling of spit in her mouth, as she will only spits out the saliva down her arm when her mouth is so full it cannot hold anymore. All very confusing but I feel sure there must be an answer to it all somewhere. I wondering if the two conditions are related in some way, maybe?

  • in reply to Helge
    Helge said:
    She has also recently taken to running her hand under any water tap she passes, to replicate the feeling of the saliva on her arm

    Helge said:
    she will only spits out the saliva down her arm when her mouth is so full it cannot hold anymore.

    This behaviour of trying to replicate the sensation of saliva on her arm is interesting as it could indicate that this is what she is trying to achieve by retaining the saliva in the first place.

    It may be subconcious and looking to physical causes may be a red herring as you suspect.

    This is something to discuss with her therapist - if she has one. If not I would recommend getting one who is experienced with helping younger autists. The GP should be kept in the loop to so they can consider what support they can provide as well.

    Age 16 is a common age for many anxieties (exams, puberty and social) to start to kick in and make it harder for those with anxiety issues to cope, so if this is a stim of hers (having a wet arm) then she will be using it increasingly to reguate her anxiety.

    Perhaps looking at other stim options could help her too - fidget spinner, chewable jewelry etc.

    Of course I'm just some random off the internet so don't take what I say as advice, just food for thought.

  • in reply to Iain

    Thank you ever so much to every kind person thats replied so far. There are some really good pointers there to try, and it shows just how beneficial and ever so helpful it can be to get someone elses perspective on a situation. I am very grateful indeed.

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