Smelling Everything?

[airial95]

Recently, my son has taken to smelling things. Not just things that would have a smell worth smelling (baked goods, candles, etc...) but EVERYTHING. The chairs, his spoon, the dogs, he even stopped at the grocery store the other day to bend down so he could smell a spot on the ground!! (gross - I know)

 

My daughter went through a smelling phase last winter after they did a week learning about their senses and focusing on the sense of smell but it only lasted a few days. He would want to smell everything she did, but it was more a monkey see/monkey do sort of thing (he has to copy EVERYTHING his big sister says or does.)

 

This is completely seperate from that. When it started about a month ago, I at first thought his class had done the senses thing too - but that's not the case. They haven't done anything with the senses before or after this started.

 

He smells things that make no sense - plastic bags, his clothes, his toys - everything. When he stopped and smelled the ground the other day - I had to start to wonder if this was some sort of new PANDAS-y type of thing.

 

Anyone heard of or been through this? Is it a compulsion, or is it sensory? Or do I just have a plain old weird kid?

[Phasmid]

I would say this is a compulsion. This was early behavior for my son. He smelled fingers, hands, video game controllers, etc.

 

 

[trubiano]

Not weird at all! My son has to lick everything before he touches it. It had become a real problem while using restrooms! I just try and talk him through the urge, telling him his mind is strong enough to control the thought. He has other urges too and I told him when ever he feels a need to do something to come tell me and I have been able to talk him out of it. The first few days you'll be bothered every minute, but as he sees he can control his urges he'll start doing it more on his own..

[simplygina]

I read somewhere that it is a tic but to me it seems like a tic/compulsion hybrid.

 

My son does both.

[philamom]

Not weird at all! My son has to lick everything before he touches it. It had become a real problem while using restrooms! I just try and talk him through the urge, telling him his mind is strong enough to control the thought. He has other urges too and I told him when ever he feels a need to do something to come tell me and I have been able to talk him out of it. The first few days you'll be bothered every minute, but as he sees he can control his urges he'll start doing it more on his own..

During my dd9 first major onset (3+ yrs ago), she licked everything. She licked walls, floors, shoes, people. I took her to a young new pedi, who sat her down and asked her to promise she would stop licking objects because it was getting her sick and upsetting her family. She looked him straight in the eye and promised she would, walked him to the door and when he shut it--she licked the doorknob! Thank goodness it resolved with that episode!

[philamom]

Airial-

My dd9 says she knows every person by their own scent. She even claims she can tell who's in the other room by it. It has nothing to do with perfume or scented products--just ordinary scent. I definitely can tell she has a heightened awareness of smells which is greatly increased when in an episode. Although, what your describing does sound like a compulsion.

Edited October 6, 2010 by philamom

[airial95]

Thanks for all the feedback. It's reassuring to know that others have gone through this. But, as funny as it sounds, I would just love to hear once - no, it's not PANDAS/OCD related, it's just a weird thing kids do!!!

 

I think I'll try to redirect him, or talk him through when he's doing this, we'll see how that works!

[nicklemama]

My DS was a licker. Licked everything. Now, he has stopped the licking and he's smelling things. Tonight, I handed him the forks to place on the table. I caught him putting them up to his mouth. I asked him not to lick them. He replied...."Don't worry Mom, I'm just smelling them". We had him evaluated for Sensory Processing Disorder in May. He was diagnosed a sensory seeker and is receiving OT for it. These "sensory issues" cropped up after what I believe was his first episode last fall. Now I see they may be compulsions.

 

Cindy