ARK's Blog

Question: I am working with a 7 year old girl in feeding therapy who is refusing to open her lips and just purses. She has been involved heavily in food preparation which she enjoys doing and shows great participation.  However when it comes to the taste testing part she refuses all foods. She does eat ham and prunes.  I have tried to get her to chain to other types of ham but she …

Question:  Hi, I have a toddler who is almost 2 years old, have sensory processing disorder.  He also has feeding aversion. and super sensitive to texture & taste.  Some goals I am looking to achieve: desensitize the oral aversion, teaching him to eat different textures, making spoon-feeding fun (he is now fighting spoon-feed) and teaching him to drink from a straw cup. Wh …

For any therapist seeking to specialize in feeding, the best piece of advice I could give you is to become a sponge.  Take courses and workshops, read as many articles as you can, talk to and learn from your colleagues, join special interest groups on Facebook and ASHA etc., follow blogs, observe other therapy sessions, and don’t forget - learn from the children you treat as well.  …

Whenever a parent asks me what they can do to improve their child’s oral motor skills, one of my first questions is usually:  Are they drinking from straws yet? Drinking from a straw is a very simple yet effective way of improving one’s oral motor skills.  It works on lip seal, tongue retraction, cheek strength, correct jaw position, suck-swallow-breathe coordination, consecutive sw …