Chewing on Straws
24th Aug 2016
Question: I have a student who chews on straws. What items would be the best for him?
Hello! We have what we call ‘polytubing straws’ - it's medical grade tubing that comes in 3 foot lengths that you can trim to any length (so you can get several straws out of it). It’s not bite-proof - with strong biting/chewing you could still potentially chew through it. It's really meant more as a more durable version of a regular straw for drinking, not for chewing. But it’s definitely more durable than regular straws, so it may be a good option for mild chewers.
.
.
Aside from that, we also make lots of other chewable options. We don't have any chew tools exactly like a straw - straws are pretty hollow/thin whereas all of our chew tools are bigger and thicker to be more durable. But out of our chew tools, ARK's Krypto-Bite Tube Necklace might be the closest. It has a core through the center (for the cord to go through), so it is sort of hollow in that respect. Besides that one, I'd recommend any of the long, smooth, and rounded options. Shape-wise, those would probably be the closest to a straw, which narrows things down to these options:
ARK's Krypto-Bite™ Gem Necklace
ARK's Krypto-Bite™ Pencil Topper (these do have a hollow end - that's the end that goes over the pencil. So you could potentially chew on that end instead for a more hollow feel like a straw. We just recommend chewing on the solid end since it's more durable)
If he's biting or chewing on straws during mealtimes, Lip Bloks may also be a good idea. These are mouthpieces that press into the top of a straw (they work with the tubing straws mentioned above, or with most regular .25” diameter straws like these). They are hard plastic, which means that even if you bite on the straw, they keep the straw open so you can still drink from it and don't bite it shut. As a side note - Lip Bloks also have a lot of other built-in bonus benefits, like preventing the straw from going too far back in the mouth and encouraging proper oral positioning.
I hope this helps some :)
If you have any other questions, please let us know.
.