ARK's Blog

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 …

As a speech therapist, I don't recommend sippy cups since many of them promote a tongue thrust and improper oral positioning, which can negatively affect a child's speech and feeding development.  So ideally, particularly for those with developmental delays, it would be best to transition them straight to cup or straw drinking.  However, I do understand their convenience, so  …

This wonderfully informative guest post comes from a dear family friend.  We thank her for sharing her story and hope that others may benefit from her insightful advice. . My daughter Sarah was born with a very wide unilateral (one side) cleft lip and palate.  Feeding became an immediate issue for us as she did not take to the typical bottle for cleft babies, the Haberman feeder …