Debbie's Blog

Putty, play dough, and other hand manipulatives are classic occupational therapy tools for fine motor work and sensory play.  Not only are they fun, but they can also be used to work on a whol … read more

Just like its namesake, lip closure (also known as lip seal) is the ability to close one's lips.  It's important for several different speech/feeding/oral motor skills: .  .  … read more

The best therapy exercises are the ones where the child doesn't know it's an exercise, which is why every pediatric speech and occupational therapist's "bag of tricks" is mostly full of toys a … read more

Rhythmic chewing is one component of a mature chewing pattern.  There's a tempo to the way we chew - it's not sporadic;  we don't chew fast then slow then fast agai … read more

Feeding therapy tip: if a child won't eat with a spoon, use whatever he/she WILL accept. In this feeding session, for instance, the child's favorite spoon was at home and he didn't like any of the … read more