The term “oral motor skills” refers to the function and use of the lips, tongue, cheeks, jaw, and hard and soft palates in swallowing and in speaking. Oral motor development actually begins in utero and continues for the first several years of a child’s life. Sometimes, children show weaknesses in oral motor skills which can…
Although it doesn’t feel that way for most of us, speaking with someone else is a complex activity. You have to be able to listen, interpret, and decide on a response, and then your brain coordinates what muscles need to move to say the sounds required to form the words. It is a lot of…
Disorders of the muscles of the face and mouth in children can cause issues with breastfeeding, facial skeletal growth and development, chewing, swallowing, speech, breathing, sleep, dental alignment, oral hygiene, and even social interactions (due to open mouth breathing, drooling, and/or holding the tongue out of the mouth). Myofunctional therapy (also known as orofacial myology)…
Remember the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? As a child I used to love watching the movie—the one where Burl Ives, starring as Sam the Snowman, narrates Rudolph’s journey to the Island of Misfit Toys and back—but I always remember wishing the other reindeer would just let Rudolph join in their games. My…
Recently, we featured a four-part series on feeding issues in children. We thought it might be helpful for some of our parents to hear from one of our patients (now an adult) who has faced this kind of struggle with food. In today’s guest post, an eighteen year old young lady and Kid’s Creek patient…
This summer, we’re publishing a series of blog posts with a focus on issues related to feeding – how to know what’s normal for your infant and toddler or when to seek help. This week’s installment focuses on picky eaters. Our earlier covered bottle and breast feeding troubles, reflux and spoon feeding, and pacifiers and sippy cups.…
This summer, we’re publishing a series of blog posts with a focus on issues related to feeding – how to know what’s normal for your infant and toddler or when to seek help. This week’s installment focuses on pacifiers and sippy cups. Our two earlier posts were on bottle and breast feeding troubles and reflux…
For the next few weeks, we’ll be publishing a series of blog posts with a focus on issues related to feeding – how to know what’s normal for your infant and toddler or when to seek help. This week’s installment focuses on reflux and spoon feeding. Last week’s post was on bottle and breast feeding…
For the next few weeks, we’ll be publishing a series of blog posts with a focus on issues related to feeding – how to know what’s normal for your infant and toddler or when to seek help. This week’s installment focuses on bottle and breast feeding. Future posts will discuss reflux and spoon feeding readiness,…
An augmentative alternative communication (AAC) device can be anything that is used to help a person communicate; it can be as simple as a communication board or book or as high-tech as a speech-generating device (SGD). These communication systems are meant to help children or adults who have difficulty communicating verbally. A few weeks ago, Jessie…