81 results for 'straw'

Question:  Hello!  I have a 19-month old son that is currently doing occupational therapy through our state’s early childhood intervention program.  We have been trying to teach him how to drink ou

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 need

1.  To start, cut a regular straw in half.  Not only is a shorter straw easier to handle, but it also takes less strength for a child to suck liquid from a shorter straw. 2.  Dip the straw into a

Question:  Good afternoon!  I'm a speech therapist working on straw drinking with a child who has Autism. We've done the first 3 steps of your How to Teach Straw Drinking blog post, but cannot pr

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 si

Learning to drink from a straw is a developmental milestone that can support a child's oral motor skills, providing key benefits for feeding, swallowing, and even the muscles that help produce speech

Question:  I have a 2 and a half year old boy. He stopped eating and drinking just before he turned 2. He has an NG tube through his nose for 6 months so far. He started eating solid foods with gre

Question:  I am an OT and a new mom to my 6-month-old daughter. We have just started introducing solid foods, but she drinks from only a bottle. I was wondering if you had any tips for transitionin

Question:  I have a student who chews on straws. What items would be the best for him? Hello! We have what we call ‘polytubing straws’ - it's medical grade tubing that comes in 3 foot lengths

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

Question:  Hi!  I have a 2 year old patient (12-14 month old skill level) who has significant tongue protrusion when attempting to drink out of a cup - this is not noted during any other feeding ac

As a speech therapist, I don't recommend sippy cups since many of them promote a tongue thrust and improper oral positioning, which can negatively affect a child's speech and feeding development.