ARK's Blog

Lip closure - being able to create and maintain a seal with your lips - is a fundamental oral motor skill for successful speech and feeding development.   For feeding, it's how we do things such as drink from a straw, remove food off of a spoon, keep food in our mouths while we chew, keep saliva in the mouth at rest (which prevents drooling), etc.  For speech, it's how we produ …

I always love adding new tools to my oral motor toolbox, and the Bite Blocks are no exception.  These handy oral motor tools come in two different versions, both of which can be used to work on jaw grading and stability:   1.   Bite Blocks - a standalone non-vibratory set, as pictured below.  This version is nice when you don't need vibration.  Because each …

What do I look for when I’m doing an oral motor / feeding assessment?   It's never a cookie-cutter check list.  It always depends on the individual and their skills and goals and where the evaluation, medical history, family history, etc. lead me.  But, there are some general skills that I look for and “tests" that I do: Is there  tongue lateralization? Is …

Question:  I'm working with a client who has Down syndrome.  She can't differentiate her tongue from her bottom lip when drinking from a straw.  I've tried having her drink from a straw using a Lip block to see if that helps, but the tongue still just takes over everything.  Any ideas? . . I always recommend getting children on straws (ideally with …