ARK's Blog

Gum massage is a simple yet effective way to provide oral stimulation to a large surface area within the mouth.  This tactile input can: •  help decrease oral aversions for hypersensitive individuals  •  help increase oral awareness for hyposensitive individuals  •  help decrease drooling, mouth stuffing, and/or the need the chew •  be very cal …

Question:  I am a mother to a baby who is 6.5 months old, corrected age.  He was born at 29 weeks gestational age.  Because of being on a high level of O2 support for a long period of time, being intubated several times, and experiencing reflux, he has had an aversion to liquids and was not able to learn how to suck on a bottle effectively.  A g-tube was placed before he lef …

1.  To start, cut a regular straw in half.  Not only is a shorter straw easier to handle, but it also takes less strength for a child to suck liquid from a shorter straw. 2.  Dip the straw into a cup with liquid preferred by the child. Place the tip of your pointer finger over the top of the straw to keep the liquid in the straw. Remove the straw from the cup, keeping the top o …

Question:  Do you have a tool to increase tongue protrusion and tongue lateralization? We do!  ARK's  Oro-Navigator was specifically created to help individuals "get" the concept of tongue lateralization.  It's very easy to use.  Simply place the cuff on the side of the tongue and guide the tongue from one side of the mouth to the opposite side.  Th …