Hi and good morning!
I am writing from Israel. I participated in your course last November in Jerusalem and, thank goodness, have been using many of your techniques to assist my clients with success.
I’ve been seeing Charlie (3.5 years old; developmental and cognitive delays with seizures) since mid-February. He presents as both hyper- and hypo-sensitive. He enjoyed the toothette (with orange juice) in his mouth and at home constantly requests the pink, fluffy toothette. With a lot of work he allowed intra-oral input (by session two, only toothettes).
Jaw, tongue, and lips are weak with limited dissociation among them. Minimal jaw grading; needs jaw assistance to drink from Straw #1. Tongue thrust while drinking. Lip closure/protrusion/rounding are poor. Speech is limited to single-syllable words (with deletions) or short, unclear phrases. He has received PROMPT since age 2.
I provided a structured program with tools you taught (ice stick, bite tube, etc.). The family practices daily. He’s “finding” his mouth now—there’s increased drooling, constant hand-to-mouth, and more biting (siblings, friends). Parents are concerned: they understand the exercises will help strengthen lips, jaw, and tongue for better speech and feeding, but the biting/touching has become excessive.
Is this normal? What should we do?
Sara’s response
Yes—I do see this response when a child first experiences positive sensory feedback from increased jaw movement. It’s actually a good sign, though understandably concerning for families. Try the following:
- Bite Tube Hierarchy
Ensure you’re using as many of the four tubes as he can manage, 10 times daily, and present a tube immediately when he moves to bite someone or seeks oral input. - Add complementary exercises
- Jaw Grading Bite Blocks
- Gum chewing (therapeutic, without swallowing)
If you do these every day, the need to bite should diminish as jaw stability and coordination improve.