Oral Defensiveness & Aversions
Posted by Debra C. Lowsky, MS, CCC-SLP on 2nd Aug 2011
Oral defensiveness falls into two main categories: HYPOsensitivity and HYPERsensitivity:
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• Individuals with hyposensitivities have low oral tone and very little awareness of what's going on inside their mouths. This "oral numbness" so to speak can cause significant speech and feeding delays. For example, the ability to create a food bolus is a critical oral motor skill n
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Strengthening Mouth Muscles
Posted by Debra C. Lowsky, MS, CCC-SLP on 7th Jul 2011
My daughter's speech therapist suggested we have my daughter sip thick liquids (i.e. yogurt, chocolate pudding, etc.) through a straw to work on strengthening mouth muscles. I have not been able to find straws thick enough to work. Do you have a suggestion?
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Drinking out of a straw (any straw) in general is a great way to help individuals learn how to keep the lips closed, how
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Jaw Grading & Stability
Posted by Debra C. Lowsky, MS, CCC-SLP on 16th Jun 2011
Jaw grading is the ability to visually judge how far you need to open your mouth to take a bite out of certain foods and to say certain speech sounds. For example, say "ooooo" versus "aaahh" - can you feel the height difference in your jaw? It needs to open just a little bit for "eeee," but wider for "oooh." Or, imagine taking a bite out of a thin cracker versus a burger - there's a big difference
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Improving a Weak Suck
Posted by Debra C. Lowsky, MS, CCC-SLP on 3rd Jun 2011
I am looking for suggestions for our 2-year-old son with epilepsy. He currently functions at a 6 month level. He can eat by mouth (only stage 2 or 3 baby foods), but lacks a suck. He can swallow well, but we have to use a syringe to get liquid into his mouth first. I do have the Z-Vibe with the Cat and Mouse Tips, but since his mouth is so tiny, they haven't really helped
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