As babies, we learn to calm ourselves through sucking. When a baby suckles, he begins to develop methods to regulate and organize. Additionally, sucking helps to develop speech patterns and helps to develop/mature the central nervous system! However, not all babies are able to use sucking in these wonderful ways. For many children with Sensory Processing Disorder, developmental disabilities, or cleft-palate, sucking is difficult or is not a preferred activity. Their bodies NEED this activity, but due to extra sensitivity to various tastes and textures OR weak muscles, sucking may be hard to do or even un-comfortable. As their bodies grow, they crave the input and they place objects into their mouths after it's age-appropriate to do so. Even typically developing people need "input" in the form of chewing. When we're stressed, we may eat food, chew on ice, gum, suck on cigarettes, etc. It's true that we continue to use chewing and sucking to organize our own bodies as adults!
Pound for pound, one of the strongest muscles in our body is the masseter. (Yes, anatomy geek here! In my book The Pocket Occupational Therapist, I discuss this and more of the "whys" in much more detail.)
There are many fun ways to incorporate oral-motor "heavy work" into your child's day. The activities you choose should be fun for your child! The most important consideration is to choose an activity in which your child is SUCCESSFUL and then make it more difficult as his muscles get stronger. You wouldn't want to begin your first ever gym session by lifting a 100lb weight!
Here are a few fun things to try:
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| My son demonstrates this for older kids. |
3) Hold cotton balls in your hand or place them on the edge of the table encourage kids blow them off. Make silly sounds as each hits the floor!
4) Whistles of all sizes are fun, each differently shaped whistle changes the muscles used by the mouth, so be sure to provide a variety of sizes for super great exercise. I find SO many types at my local dollar or party store!
5) Sucking on candy canes of different flavors is a super activity during the holidays. Any lollipops are good as not only do they provide work for the oral muscles, but they provides many taste experiences. For non-sugar snacks, consider beef jerky or fruit leathers.
6) Use pixi-sticks and place their contents around the child's mouth at different places, allow the child to use only his tongue to lick it off in front of a mirror. Whipped crème, sugar-free jam, and flavored syrups are other ideas. Use a mirror and do it together!
7) Straws of different sizes can be placed into your child's favorite drinks.
**REMEMBER** the smaller the straw, the harder the oral muscles will work to get the air out. Begin with a larger, straighter straw and work down to a smaller, curvier one.
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| One of my client's straw collection! |
Let me know which activities work for your child!
**There are MANY more fun ideas for children that need to place non-food items into their mouths in the Pocket Occupational Therapist book!
By- Cara Koscinski MOT, OTR/L
The Pocket Occupational Therapist
Author of The Pocket Occupational Therapist books- handbooks for caregivers of children with special needs. Questions and answers most frequently asked to OTs with easy to understand answers and fun activities you can do with your child. Order anywhere books are sold. www.pocketot.com