ARK's Blog

You know that patient who can do everything in therapy, but doesn’t generalize the skill at home? They request, imitate, take bites, tolerate new experiences and show you new skills, but then leave your room, and it all *poof* disappears. Different spaces and different expectations equal completely different outcomes. It’s frustrating, and it’s easy to assume the skill is not the …

Oral motor therapy works on the physical skills of the mouth - the lips, tongue, jaw, and cheeks - that are needed for eating, drinking, and speech. That's really the core of it. Those four structures have to work together with a surprising amount of precision. Eating a cracker, drinking through a straw, saying the word "elephant", etc. all require specific movements, strength, and coordination fr …

As a speech-language pathologist, and the daughter of a dental hygienist, I grew up surrounded by conversations about teeth and oral health. Add in my own childhood experience with protruding teeth and a Class II malocclusion, known as a deep overbite, it’s no surprise that I view oral development through a blended lens as a therapist. While dentistry and speech-language pathology are distin …

Evidence tells us that engaging play in therapy yields better outcomes, and oral motor therapy should be no exception! My top priority in therapy is that my patients and I build trust while having playful, meaningful sessions to reach our goals! Oral motor therapy can be overstimulating, especially at the start of therapy, so I wanted to share a few of my fun-based ideas that I incorporate into fe …