Where Play is FUNctional
How many kids do you work with that try to stuff a whole huge cracker into their mouth? How many times have you been bitten when working on taking bites of food (never for me, but I have been bitten doing other oral motor activities). Ark has just introduced a new product called the Right… [Continue Reading]
How could you get any more OT than mixing an oral motor, ADL, and fine motor activity into one. I found these build your own straws called Pipeline at Bed Bath and Beyond, and just had to try them. They seem to be the same thing as the Strawz that I found on Amazon too…. [Continue Reading]
Drinking from a straw can be a challenge for some kids, and it can be a scary thing for those who don’t know what to do or expect. An OT friend of mine named Sharon mentioned that she and the kids love to use the Got Milk Magic Flavored Straws when working on straw drinking…. [Continue Reading]
Most of the kids that I work with that have oral sensory problems avoid oral stimulation, and avoid food. I just started seeing a young fellow that is the opposite of what I am used to. This little guy is a sensory seeker, and he seeks oral sensation. He chews on everything, and he even… [Continue Reading]
I am seeing a little girl who enjoys eating, but she does not yet move her tongue to the side (tongue lateralization) in order to move her food around in her mouth. I will often use vibration in the mouth to stimulate more tongue and cheek movement. Sometimes I will have parents get a baby… [Continue Reading]
When talking about oral-motor skills and eating, you don’t usually think immediately of bouncing on a ball as a treatment technique. Well, think again. Bouncing on a large therapy ball, either supported or unsupported, stimulates muscle co-contractions. These muscle contractions are all over the body to achieve stability while bouncing, so the bouncing on the… [Continue Reading]
I have been an Occupational Therapist since 1991. I started out doing skilled nursing for 6 months, then moved on to pediatrics. In pediatrics I have worked in a clinic setting, inpatient rehab and acute, ICU, early intervention, and school district. My goal with this website is that I can help stimulate creativity and information sharing. As a therapist, I am always creating new things to use in therapy or adapting things. I love sharing my projects and solutions. I started this … [Read More...]
