TalkTools | Ask a Therapist – Tagged "honey bear cup"

Ask A Therapist: A client bites down on baby bottle

Posted by Deborah Grauzam on October 24, 2016

Hello!

My name is Yael and I have a patient who is 18 months, has low tone in the oral area, likes a lot of sensory input inside the mouth but won't suck on a straw or drink from a cup. He only drinks from a baby bottle and kind of bites down on it. How can I start working on his suckling skills so I can work with the straws and all the other tools?

Thank you!

Yael

Hi Yael,

I will give you a number of things to try and see what works for your patient. I would work on providing a good sensory warm up with the Vibrator & Toothette, chewing on gloved finger, using the z-vibe, or red Chewy Tube (depends on where your client is with jaw strength). I would question if your patient has jaw weakness based on your description. You can also try rocking the bottle in and out of the mouth to encourage more of a front/ back pattern versus the up/ down biting. Then I would try to use the Honey Bear with Flexible Straw to encourage drinking. You will load the straw for the patient and provide jaw and cheeks support if needed. I hope some of this helps.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. We are happy to help.

Thanks,

Liz

Elizabeth Smithson, MSP, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has over 10 years of professional experience working with infants, children, adolescents and adults. She earned her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of South Carolina. Liz is also a Level 5 TalkTools® Trained Therapist. She has received specialized training in Oral Placement Therapy, Speech, Feeding, Apraxia, Sensory Processing Disorders, and PROMPT©. Liz works with clients with a wide range of disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She works through her own private practice Elizabeth Smithson Therapy, LLC in the home setting and in the TalkTools® office in Charleston, SC.

Ask A Therapist: 7 year old with Down Syndrome who can't drink

Posted by Deborah Grauzam on March 21, 2016

My son who has Down Syndrome will be seven next month and still can't drink.

Ben had a high palate and was breastfed. He really latched with his tongue. He only drinks from a hard spout sippy cup. He grinds his teeth really bad too. But he still uses his tongue, even as he drinks from the sippy cup. You can see his tongue out on the bottom of the sippy cup, it's like his sucking reflex is so strong his brain won't let him not use his tongue to suck! He doesn't stick his tongue out and it's not a thick tongue either. We have tried the honey bear and tubing as well, he just wants to use his tongue! Any suggestions on how to help my little guy?

Thank you!

Robin

Hi Robin,

It sounds like your son is still demonstrating what we call a "suckle pattern" when drinking. If he is not able to drink from the honey bear straw cup at all, I would recommend that you consult a TalkTools Trained Therapist to have an evaluation and get more information on how to work on straw drinking with your child. There is a strategy of using a syringe to place small amounts of liquid in his cheeks by his back molars but I feel this technique would be best implemented by someone with experience, who can guide you through the process. If that is not an option, I would watch Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson's video-on-demand "A Three-Part Treatment Plan for Oral Placement Therapy" and try to teach yourself before implementing the techniques with your son. Please let me know if we can help you with anything else.

Thanks,

Liz

Elizabeth Smithson, MSP, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has over 10 years of professional experience working with infants, children, adolescents and adults. She earned her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of South Carolina. Liz is also a Level 5 TalkTools® Trained Therapist. She has received specialized training in Oral Placement Therapy, Speech, Feeding, Apraxia, Sensory Processing Disorders, and PROMPT©. Liz works with clients with a wide range of disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She works through her own private practice Elizabeth Smithson Therapy, LLC in the home setting and in the TalkTools® office in Charleston, SC.

Ask a Therapist: Speech and language delay with the Straw and Horn Kits

Posted by Deborah Grauzam on September 23, 2012

Hello! I am Maria and I live in Singapore. I have just purchased the parent kit and started with the Horn #1 and have not seen any major problem so far. I am concerned about the Straw #1. When I started my son (he has some speech and language delay), he seemed to stop learning how to drink with a straw. Well, he could use a normal staw before - but with biting, but when he uses the Straw #1, he tries to bite and no longer sips - when he was able to bite and sip on normal straws before. Do you think I must start with a pre-requisite tool before Straw #1? I am helping him straw with the support of my hand but to no avail.

Thank you,

Maria

Sometimes changing the straw texture can be difficult if they've been using a motor plan for one that can not transition to another. My suggestion would be to use the Honey Bear with straw that has a flexible tubing that is firm but not completely stiff. It is designed so that if he cannot initiate the suck easily, you can squeeze the cup and help him learn the motor plan without biting. Providing jaw support can help. Once he is independent on the Honey Bear with Straw, you can again transition to Straw #1.

Your local TalkTools distributor may be able to help you find a local therapist with TalkTools training who can better assess and monitor your son's therapy.

I hope this helps!

Renee Roy Hill