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Tag: BITE BLOCKS

Bite Tubes 101: How TalkTools Bite Tube Supports Jaw Stability, Safer Chewing, and Speech Clarity

If you’re working with clients who chew on their tongue or clothing, show open-mouth posture, or fatigue during chewing, TalkTools® Bite Tubes can be a game-changer. These therapist-designed tools provide targeted temporomandibular joint (TMJ) input and graded jaw work to support safer chewing and clearer speech patterns. In “Ask a Therapist,” TalkTools clinicians explain that […]

October 14, 2025 jayne General Comments (0) Details
Tags: ASK A THERAPIST, BITE BLOCKS, BITE TUBE HIERARCHY, caregiver education, CHEWING SKILLS, co-articulation, DOWN SYNDROME, FEEDING THERAPY, home exercise program, jaw exercises, jaw grading, JAW STABILITY, masseter activation, mastication, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, OPT, oral cancer recovery, ORAL MOTOR THERAPY, Oral Placement Therapy, ORAL SENSORY INPUT, PEDIATRIC FEEDING, sensory seeking, SLP, SPECIAL NEEDS, SPEECH CLARITY, SPEECH THERAPY, TALKTOOLS, TalkTools Bite Tubes, TalkTools blog, TMJ STIMULATION, TRISMUS

Ask a Therapist: Differentiating Between Bite Blocks and Bite Tube

Answer: The difference between bite blocks and bite tubes is that bite blocks target isometric jaw stability at set jaw positions (often 2–7), while bite tubes target dynamic jaw grading (smooth open/close control) used for chewing/mastication and speech co-articulation. Many clinicians assess with both and choose based on signs like open-mouth posture, limited grading, sliding, […]

March 13, 2024 administrator Ask A Therapist Comments (0) Details
Tags: BITE BLOCKS, BITE TUBES, chewing/mastication, co-articulation, jaw grading, jaw jutting, jaw sliding, JAW STABILITY, OPEN MOUTH POSTURE, Oral Placement Therapy (OPT), SPEECH CLARITY

Ask A Therapist: When to Start Tongue Retraction Exercises

I have attended two of Sara‘s workshops. I have a 7-11 year old student with a frontal lisp who still sucks his thumb at night and sometimes during the day. His tongue is forward with an open mouth position when he is at rest. I haven’t yet checked to see if his swallow is affected. Should […]

May 23, 2018 administrator Ask A Therapist Comments (0) Details
Tags: ASK A THERAPIST, ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF THE JAW, BITE BLOCKS, BLOWING HIERARCHY, FRONTAL LISP, HORN HIERARCHY, JAW BOOKOPEN MOUTH POSITION, OPEN MOUTH POSTURE, ORAL HABITS, Oral Placement Therapy, ORAL-MOTOR, SARA ROSENFELD-JOHNSONSTRAW HIERARCHY, TEMPORO-MANDIBULAR JOINT, THUMB SUCKING, TMJ, TMJ STIMULATION

Ask A Therapist: Down Syndrome & Feeding

Hello, my daughter is almost 2 years old and has Down Syndrome. We had the opportunity to meet Lori Overland when my daughter was about 9 months old. I feel so fortunate to have found TalkTools while my daughter was very young, although we still have some struggles. Our OT is familiar with TalkTools and […]

May 23, 2018 administrator Ask A Therapist Comments (0) Details
Tags: AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION, ASK A THERAPIST, BITE BLOCKS, BITE TUBE SET, BITE TUBES, CHEWY TUBES, DOWN SYNDROMEDOWN SYNDROME COURSE, FIND A THERAPIST, HORN HIERARCHY, HORN KIT, LORI OVERLAND, REVERSE SWALLOW, ROBYN MERKEL-WALSHSPECIAL NEEDS CHILD, SPECIAL NEEDS PARENT, STRAW DRINKING, STRAW HIERARCHY, SUCKLING, TALKTOOLS THERAPY, TONGUE PROTRUSIONTONGUE THRUST

Ask A Therapist: Help with Breathing Issues

I need your advice for a client with Treacher Collins Syndrome. The child has had his left lip and palate repaired, his face & skull are severely deformed. We have been doing OPT for 1 year: greatest improvement is in blowing (from not able to blow to Horn #4, Bubble Bear 1 feet; he can do depressor press with 14 […]

May 23, 2018 administrator Ask A Therapist Comments (0) Details
Tags: ASK A THERAPIST, BITE BLOCKS, BUBBLE BEAR, BUBBLE BLOWING, BUBBLE HIERARCHY, BUTTON PULL, HORN #4, HORN BLOWINGHORN HIERARCHY, HORN KIT, HORN THERAPY, JAW CLOSURE TUBES, OPT, Oral Placement Therapy, SARA ROSENFELD-JOHNSONTONGUE DEPRESSOR, TREACHER COLLINS

4.8 YEARS: WORKING ON TONGUE PLACEMENT

Here is Belle working on her spoon slurp exercises: And here working on proper tongue placement for sounds /t, d, n, l/ with the help of bite blocks. Belle had a fabulous time at our in-depth session with Monica Mitchell, our TalkTools speech therapist, this month. We worked through our entire oral motor program and assessed Belle’s progress as […]

June 9, 2017 administrator Annabelle's Progress Comments (0) Details
Tags: /D/, /L/, /N/, BITE BLOCKS, DOWN SYNDROME, FEEDING THERAPY, MONICA PURDY, ORAL MOTOR EXERCISESORAL PLACEMENT THERAPY, SPEECH THERAPY, SPOON SLURPS, T, TONGUE PLACEMENT, TONGUE RETRACTION

ASHA CONVENTION IS NEXT WEEK! COME SEE US AT BOOTH 423, SESSIONS 1205 & 1689 ;)

Who’s excited for the annual American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention next week? The convention is happening November 17-19 in Philadelphia, PA. We are ready to blow your mind both at presentations and at booth #423 and serve you the best we can! THE BOOTH At the booth, you will be able to view and handle […]

November 10, 2016 administrator TalkTools News Comments (0) Details
Tags: AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION, ASD, ASHA CONFERENCEASHA CONVENTION, ASHA PRESENTATIONS, AUTISM, BITE BLOCKS, CEUS COLETTE ELLISCOMFORT FEEDING, CONTINUING EDUCATION, CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITSCONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS, DISCOUNT, DYSPHAGIA, FEEDING THERAPYFEEDING THERAPY TOOLS, FEEDING TOOLS, GIVEAWAY, HONEY BEAR HORN BLOWINGHORN HIERARCHY, JAW GRADING BITE BLOCKS, LORI OVERLAND, MONICA PURDYORAL MOTOR DISORDER, ORAL MOTOR EXERCISES, ORAL MOTOR PERFORMANCE, ORAL MOTOR THERAPY, Oral Placement Therapy, PHILADELPHIA CONFERENCEPHILADELPHIA CONVENTION, PICKY EATER, PICKY EATING, PRESENTATION ABSTRACTPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION, PROMO, RAFFLE, ROBYN MERKEL-WALSH, SELF-LIMITED DIETSENSORY FRIENDLY TOOLS, SENSORY MOTOR APPROACH, SENSORY MOTOR SYSTEM, SENSORY MOTOR TECHNIQUES, SENSORY TOOLS, SLP, SLP CONTINUING EDUCATIONSPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY, SPEECH THERAPY TOOLS, SPEECH THERAPYSPEECH THERAPY CONTINUING EDUCATION, SPEECH TOOLSSTRAW DRINKING, STRAW HIERARCHY, SWALLOWING DISORDER, TALKTOOLS INTRUCTORSTALKTOOLS NEWS, TALKTOOLS PRESENTATION, TALKTOOLS PRESENTERS, TALKTOOLS PRODUCTS, TALKTOOLS SUPPLIES, TALKTOOLS TOOLS

A Modern Look at Van Riper’s Phonetic Placement Approach

by Robyn Merkel-Walsh, MA, CCC-SLP This poster was presented at the 2016 annual ASHA Connect Convention, Poster Session #PS02. Download the poster here ABSTRACT Presentation explores 1) traditional versus phonological therapy, 2) the sensory-motor system as it relates to speech, 3) the importance of tactile and proprioception in articulation therapy, 4) shaping placement of the articulators […]

July 11, 2016 administrator From the Experts Comments (0) Details
Tags: #ASHACONNECT, AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION, APRAXIA BILABIAL SHAPES, ARTICULATION THERAPY, ASHA CONNECTASHA CONVENTION, BITE BLOCKS, BOWEN, CLINICAL EVIDENCE, CONVENTION POSTER, DIANE BAHR, EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICEFROM THE EXPERTS, GREGORY LOF, HONEY BEAR, HONEY BEAR CUP, HONEY BEAR STRAW CUP, HONEY BEAR WITH FLEXIBLE STRAWJAW EXERCISER, JAW GRADING BITE BLOCKS, MERKEL-WALSH, MODERN THERAPY TOOLS, MYOFUNCTION, NSOM, NSOME, OMIORAL MOTOR EXERCISE, ORAL MOTOR INSTITUTE, ORAL MOTOR SUPPLIES, ORAL MOTOR THERAPY, ORAL MOTOR TOOLS, ORAL PLACEMENT, ORAL PLACEMENT DISORDERORAL PLACEMENT RESEARCH, Oral Placement Therapy, ORAL PLACEMENT TOOLS, PAM MARSHALLAPHONETIC PLACEMENT, PHONETIC PLACEMENT APPROACH, PHONETIC PLACEMENT CUE, PHONETIC PLACEMENT THERAPY, PHONOLOGICAL MODELPHONOLOGICAL THERAPY, PLACEMENT CUES, POSTER PRESENTATION, PPT, PROPRIOCEPTION, RED BITE BLOCKS, ROBYN MERKEL-WALSHSARA ROSENFELD-JOHNSON, SENSORY MOTOR SYSTEM, SENSORY-MOTOR ACTIVITY, SLP CONVENTION, SPEECH CLARITY, SPEECH MOVEMENTSPEECH THERAPY RESEARCH, SPEECH THERAPY SUPPLIES, SPEECH THERAPY TOOLS, TACTILE INTERVENTION, TACTILE THERAPYTACTILE-KINESTHETIC APPROACH, TACTILE-KINESTHETIC TECHNIQUE, THERAPY TOOLS, TRADITIONAL SPEECH THERAPY, VAN RIPER

A Mother Learns Many Lessons

Elizabeth is one of those children, lucky or unlucky, depending on how you see it, who has a summer birthday. These children get to wake up and automatically be off on their birthday, go outside to play, and enjoy their day but they don’t get to celebrate their day with classmates in the form of […]

May 18, 2015 administrator Elizabeth's Journey Comments (0) Details
Tags: BITE BLOCKS, DYSPRAXIA, ELIZABETH'S MONTHLY UPDATES, IEP, INCLUSION, ORAL MOTOR EXERCISES, ORAL PLACEMENT THERAPYORAL STIMULATION, SCHOOL THERAPIST, SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER, SPD, SPECIAL ED, SPECIAL EDUCATION, SPECIAL NEEDSSPEECH CLARITY, SPEECH THERAPY GOALS, SPEECH THERAPY IN SCHOOL

Ask A Therapist: Jaw Stability Protocol for Severe Underbite

Hi Therapists, What do I do for a 19 year old student with a severe underbite (a gap of ½ inch between top and bottom teeth) when trying to use the jaw stability protocol? Thank you. When you are working on the Bite Blocks for jaw stability and the Bite Tube hierarchy, you will want to make sure […]

February 25, 2015 administrator Ask A Therapist Comments (0) Details
Tags: ASK A THERAPIST, BITE BLOCKS, BITE TUBE SET, BITE TUBES, CHEWY TUBE, CHEWY TUBES, DENTAL STRUCTURE, JAW STABILITY, MONICA PURDY, OPT, Oral Placement Therapy, ORTHODONTY, TALKTOOLS, TALKTOOLS THERAPY, UNDERBITE