ARK's Blog

Below are directions for a Straw / Lip Blok program I've used with many of my kids over the years. I usually do this in conjunction with tongue thrust therapy when their swallowing pattern needs to be changed.  And it also helps work on oral tone and tongue retraction. . . What You'll Need: 1. Krazy Straws. I typically use the ones in the picture below, in sequence f …

Question:  I am an SLP seeing a 8 year old student with a tongue thrust.  What products would be the best for addressing the tongue thrust?  How long does it usually take for them to affect a change in a child's lingual placement? . Great question.  For tongue thrust therapy, I use the protocol outlined in the book Swallow Right, 2nd edition by Roberta Pierc …

Tongue tip elevation is the ability to lift the tip of one's tongue up to the alveolar ridge (the spot just behind the upper front teeth).  As a shorthand, we often call this location "on spot," as in, "get your tongue tip on spot!" Tongue tip elevation is an oral motor skill necessary to say certain speech sounds (t, d, n, l, s, and z).  It's also where the tongue should rest …

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.  …