I'm the one who had the earlier thread about biting. I got some great information today, so I'll share it.
One of my dcb is in the early intervention program. He has some under-sensitivity issues, so we do a lot of touching, massaging, rubbing, and joint compression to help him focus on what is happening around him. He is the target of my biter, so I talked to his therapist about it today. She said that at this age, they are so full of the "newness" of the world around them that their nerves are almost bouncing off the wall. It's like they need some of the same focus processes that my dcb needs. Biter was sitting near her while we talked, and she reached over and was doing some minor joint compressions, massaging his joints, etc, just casually. She stopped and he moved closer and wanted more. In minutes, he was so relaxed that he fell asleep, mid morning, before lunch, and after an early morning nap. It was amazing! The touches release a chemical in their body that relaxes the tension in them. I can't remember exactly how she explained it, but it helps DCB focus on his surroundings and it seemed to help biter focus on other outlets for his frenzy.
She said it would help the 2 year old with some of her tantrums if she was having the kind of day that seemed to lead to frequent tantrums.
I'm going to start lining them up and do the exercises as an assembly line!!
