ARK's Blog

Question:  Hi!  I have a 2 year old patient (12-14 month old skill level) who has significant tongue protrusion when attempting to drink out of a cup - this is not noted during any other feeding activities.  I think it's because she was exclusively bottle-fed for up to 20 months. I bought some lip blocks and the bear bottle for her to use.  She does great with the blue lip …

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: .  .  •  Being able to close one's lips around a straw, spoon, a piece of food, etc. •  Being able to pronounce the speech sounds /p/, /b/, and /m/ •  Being able to chew food with one's …

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 again.  We chew to a silent yet steady beat in order to properly break down food. . .  In the video below, however, this young man has a very sporadic chewing pattern.  In fact, he'll …

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 other spoons I had.  So, I tried a twizzler and voila!  He ate the entire container of food.  . . You can also try dipping a Grabber, Y-Chew, or ARK Probe into whatever the c …