“When our son Dashiell was born in early 2004 with Down syndrome, we immediately began researching possible intervention and therapy options. We realized that in our talkative family, speech would be our priority. When we found an article by Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson, MS, CCC-SLP about her oral-motor therapy, the connections between feeding and speech really made sense to […]
Ask A Therapist: Biting & Feeding Improvement
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 […]
SEEING THE TREES IN THE FOREST: ELIZABETH GROWS BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
I can remember that I was living so deeply “in the forest” this year that I did not “see the trees” I was so deep in concentrating on Elizabeth’s sensory needs, her therapies and their follow-ups at home as well as our older daughter’s needs and well…LIFE that I don’t think I looked up to […]
Ask A Therapist: Bite Blocks & Bite Tubes for Trismus
Sara, I have an adult woman who has had surgery for oral cancer and has had resection of right hard palate. I have been treating her for Trismus using the TheraBite. This has worked successfully as she was able to wear an obdurator. She is now at a point where she can no […]
Ask A Therapist: Therapy Cards & Bite Tube
Hi Sara, I am Jonathan’s speech therapist, his Mom and I had a few questions for you. 1. When working with your therapy cards should we provide jaw support due to his jaw sliding or just stay on lower level cards that don’t cause his jaw to slide until his jaw strengthens from the OPT […]
WHAT EVIDENCE-BASED, ORAL SENSORY-MOTOR TREATMENTS ARE EFFECTIVE FOR SPEECH DISORDERS?
NOTE: This article has been reprinted with permission from Diane Bahr of Ages and Stage®, LLC and Robyn Merkel Walsh. Robyn Merkel-Walsh, MA, CCC-SLP & Diane Bahr, MS, CCC-SLP, CIMI EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE (EBP) IN SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY According to the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA, 2005) “the term evidence-based practice [EBP] refers to an approach in which current, high-quality research […]
Ask A Therapist: Teeth Grinding
My child has no problems with eating or drinking, but grinds his teeth until I want to grind mine! His dentist says it’s common in kids with Down syndrome. I saw your teeth grinding items and wondered if they might help? He is 5 years old, does not speak much – he imitates sounds, growls […]
Ask A Therapist: Teeth Grinding
My child has no problems with eating or drinking, but grinds his teeth until I want to grind mine! His dentist says it’s common in kids with Down syndrome. I saw your teeth grinding items and wondered if they might help? He is 5 years old, does not speak much – he imitates sounds, growls […]
Ask A Therapist: Jaw Instability and Parent “Homework”?
Hi TalkTools, I recently completed the self-study course “A Three Part Plan for Oral Placement Therapy.” Really enjoyed the course and hoping to use the knowledge with patients. I have 2 questions to start: 1) I see that the jaw assessment is done with bite blocks and then the bite blocks are used for therapy as […]
Ask a Therapist: Dystonic Cerebral Palsy Extension Patterns and Jaw Weakness
Hi there, I have just assessed an absolutely delightful little four-year-old boy with a diagnosis of Dystonic Cerebral Palsy. All four limbs are affected but the weakness is more apparent on the right side. My assessment has shown significant jaw weakness and instability—he begins to jaw jut and slide after three seconds of attempting a […]