Pica

The definition of pica according to WebMD is “the persistent eating of non-nutritive substances.” Apparently the name comes from a mythical bird that would eat anything. I’ve also read that pica is the Latin word for magpie, also unpleasant, but then so is pica. I never heard of it until my autistic son started eating non-food items.

It started with chewing on his sleeves & collar, then moved on to upholstery, pillows, carpet, towels. We can’t keep any stuffed animals in his room anymore. He also had a cute talking Elmo chair that we had to put in storage. We couldn’t bring him to the park, or outside at all for that matter, because he would try to eat the dirt, sticks, stones, cigarette butts, you name it.

Then the nastiest of all – his poop. At the advice of his neurologist, I stocked up on one-piece pajamas (luckily it was right before Christmas, so they were readily available at most stores). She felt it was related to sensory-seeking behaviors. As soon as he gets home from school, the jammies go on and he stays in jammies as long as he’s home. The doctor’s theory was that if we prevented the behavior in this way, eventually he would forget about it and the habit would be broken.

My son has a wonderful preschool teacher and therapists at school. Through occupational therapy and re-directing the sensory-seeking, he has gotten better in recent months. We can actually bring him outside without incident and occasionally can let him wear his school clothes for the rest of the day, as well as the occasional two-piece jammies!

I’ve read this is common in children with autism, but I’ve yet to meet another child/parent/family who is living with this. It’s such a disturbing thing to live with. Not only is it strange and odd (and gross), there’s the constant worry of intestinal blockage, poisoning – especially in a non-verbal child who cannot tell you where it hurts or even point to where it hurts. I’d love to meet another family who has lived with this to see how they dealt with it. On the bright side, it has gotten better and I always have hope for his future.