Welcome!
Compiled here are tips, strategies, and exercises that I have found effective with the children who I personally see and treat. Please note that the information here is by no means all-inclusive, nor should it be considered a substitute for an in-person evaluation with a speech therapist, occupational therapist, speech-language pathologist, and/or other professionals. Each child is unique and treatment must be catered to their specific needs accordingly. But it is my sincere hope that you find some of this information useful towards that end.
All my best,
Debbie
FEEDING THERAPY
The must-reads:
- Food Refusal - Is It Oral Motor or Is It Sensory?
- Oral Defensiveness & Food Aversions
- Oral Sensitivities & Low Tone in Children who have Down Syndrome
- How to Teach Biting & Chewing Skills
- How to Develop a Rotary Chewing Pattern
- 75+ Feeding Therapy Tips & Strategies
More:
- The Right & Wrong Way to Spoon Feed
- Practicing a Rhythmic Chewing Pattern
- Mouth Stuffing & Food Pocketing
- Food Pocketing - Possible Causes & What You Can Do
- Using Twizzlers as Spoons?!
- "Thinking Outside the Plate" Feeding Therapy Strategies
- 5 Reasons Why Playing with Food Can Lead to Trying New Foods
- Tips to Accepting Different Food Textures
- The Importance of Supporting Children with Eating Problems
- How to Desensitize Children to Cups & Straws
- Is Your Child Not Chewing Soft Foods?
- Transitioning from Bottle to Cup Drinking
- How to Teach Straw Drinking
- Finger Feeding Tips for Toddlers
- Tips for Pleasing Picky Eaters
- G-Tube Advice
- Feeding Tips & Tricks for Cleft Babies & Preemies
- Consecutive Bites of Food
- Improving a Weak Suck
- Feeding Issues from Reflux
- Straw Drinking Prerequisite: Tongue & Jaw Dissociation
- Babies Biting on Straws
- When Kids Think Feeding Utensils Are Food
- Feeding Therapy - Moving Beyond Food Prep
- Feeding Problems - When It's Psychological
- Teaching the Concept of Sucking (Not Blowing) through a Straw to Drink
- Using Chew Tools in Oral Motor / Feeding Therapy
- 10 Oral Motor Staples for Feeding Therapy
- What Do I Look for in an Oral Motor / Feeding Assessment?
ORAL MOTOR THERAPY:
The must-reads:
- Oral Motor Exercises
- Z-Vibe Oral Motor Exercises
- When / How Long to Use the Z-Vibe in Therapy
- Oral Sensory Motor Strategies for Children Who Have Down Syndrome
- Gum Massage for Oral Stimulation
- How to Decrease Tongue Protrusion
- Using Gross Motor for Oral Motor - How Trunk Turning Exercises Can Improve Tongue Lateralization
- Drooling - How to Target & Address the Causes
More:
- Fun, Edible Oral Motor Exercises
- Exercises for Jaw Strength & Stability
- Exercises for Jaw Grading & Stability
- Tongue Pop Exercises for Tongue Movement & Control
- Tongue Lateralization & Protrusion
- Assisting Lip Closure
- Training the Oral Musculature with Lip Bloks
- Drooling - Getting to the Root of the Problem
- Does the Grabber Work on Different Skills than the Y-Chew?
- Thumb Sucking Side Effects & Strategies
- How to Teach Blowing Skills
- Why Mouthing Is an Important Stage of Early Oral Development
- Food Pocketing - Possible Causes & What You Can Do
- Assisting Back of Tongue Elevation for /k/g/y/ Speech Sounds
- The Oral Motor Benefits of Straws
- Lip Closure & Rounding
- Straw Drinking Prerequisite: Tongue & Jaw Dissociation
- Tongue Tip Elevation Exercises
- Tongue Thrust Therapy
- Oral Motor Straw Workout
- Oral Motor Staples for Babies Who Have Down Syndrome
- Which Products Do You Recommend for My Baby Who Has Down Syndrome?
- Using Chew Tools in Feeding / Oral Motor Therapy
- 10 Oral Motor Staples for Feeding Therapy
- Introducing Oral Motor Tools
- Exercises for Toddlers & Young Children
- What Do I Look for in an Oral Motor / Feeding Assessment?
THE ORAL SENSORY NEED TO CHEW:
- The Reasons Why Some Kids & Adults Need to Chew
- Strategies for Individuals Who Need to Chew
- Guide to Choosing the Right Chew Tools
- Does Needing to Chew Mean My Child Has Autism or SPD?
- Needing to Chew + Drooling
- Do Chew Tools Increase the Need to Chew?
- Chewing on Ice
- Chewing on Straws
- Thumb/Finger Sucking Alternatives
- The Sensory Benefits of Heavy Work Activities
- The Benefits of Embracing the Need to Chew
- An Overwhelming Need to Chew
EXERCISES FOR THE Z-VIBE AND/OR PROBE:
- Tips & Techniques for the Z-Vibe
- Oral Motor Exercises with the Z-Vibe
- Easy Oral Motor Activities
- Edible Oral Motor Exercises with Cheerios, Lollipops, Etc.
- Normalizing Oral Sensitivities
- Oral Strategies for Children who have Down Syndrome
- Rhythmic Chewing
- How long to use the Z-Vibe during a single session
- Is Vibration Necessary for Oral Motor Therapy?
- Using the Spoon Tip to Product /k/g/y/ Sounds
- Lip Closure and Rounding Exercises
- Tongue Tip Elevation Exercises
- Probe Exercises
- 26 Uses for the Z-Vibe
- How to Practice Vowels and Jaw Heights
EXERCISES FOR THE GRABBER AND/OR Y-CHEW:
- Tips & Techniques for the Grabber
- How to Teach the Concept of Biting & Chewing Skills
- How to Develop a Mature Chewing Pattern
- Practicing a Rhythmic Chewing Pattern
- Improving Jaw Strength & Stability
- Tongue Pop Exercises
- Assisting Lip Closure
- When to Use the Grabber vs. the Y-Chew
- Using the Grabber to Assist Pointing and Joint Attention
- Using Chew Tools in Feeding / Oral Motor Therapy
SENSORY:
- Why Does My Child Chew on Everything?
- My Child Chews on Everything - What Can I Do To Help?
- Do Chew Tools Increase the Need to Chew?
- The Sensory Benefits of Heavy Work Activities
- Back to School Sensory Strategies
- Oral Defensiveness & Aversions
- Tips for Toothbrushing with Oral Defensiveness
- Tooth Grinding - Possible Causes & What You Can Do
- How to De-Sensitize Children Who Are Afraid of Gloves
- Inappropriate Chewing & Finger/Knuckle Biting
- DIY Sensory Mats
- DIY Weighted Snake
- Building a Therapy Lego Wall
FINE MOTOR:
- Vertical Velcro Pull
- 10 Play Dough / Putty Exercises
- “Birthday Cake” Fine Motor Activity
- Cork Button Castles
- Finger Isolation Activity
- Bilateral Coordination Activities
- The Importance of Stacking / Nesting Toys for Fine Motor Development
- Fine Motor DIY Piggy Bank
- Building a Therapy Lego Wall
SPEECH THERAPY:
- How to Turn Your Voice On - Teaching the Difference between Voiced & Unvoiced Phonemes
- Visualizing /sh/ as a Continuant
- Speech Therapy with Bandaids
- Tips for Easier & More Effective Therapy Homework
- The Importance of Stacking / Nesting Toys for Language Development
- Speech Trick for Assisting Back of Tongue Sounds /k/g/y/
- DIY Auditory Feedback Device
- Tongue Thrust Therapy
- Which Products Are Recommended for Apraxia?
- How to Practice Vowels and Jaw Heights