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The
skills needed to speak and to
be nourished are as complex
as any other. This clinic is
designed for children with moderate-severe
oral-motor or feeding problems.
Children who attend our therapies,
as well as the therapies of
other clinics, are welcome to
schedule appointments as needed.
We will work with your private,
home, and/or school team to
create an effective intervention
plan.
Some children
present with oral aversion,
also known as oral tactile
defensiveness. As infants,
they may refuse to nurse or
nurse only briefly. They may
refuse a pacifier and do not
mouth toys.
Later,
they may have difficulty transitioning
from purees to finger foods.
When they do tolerate solid
food, the preferred texture
is often "crunchy."
Examples include: crackers,
toast, biscuits/cookies, chips,
pretzels, cheerios. Children
with oral aversion often gag
on other textures such as
rice, potatos, fruit, vegetables,
and meats. These children
tend to be described as "picky
eaters," but actually
the problem is likely due
to oral hypersensitivity resulting
in a feeding disorder.
Some children
under-register tactile, kinesthetic,
and proprioceptive information.
These children are thus less
aware of the positioning of
their lips, tongue, teeth,
cheeks, and alveolar ridge
as they begin to eat or talk.
The articulatory targets and
the movement of each articulator
is less salient to the child.
As a result, articulation
of consonants and vowels may
develop late and/or be disordered.
Feeding may also be disordered
as it is more difficult for
the child to form a bolus
and transit it through the
oral cavity.
Other related
oral/feeding problems include:
constant mouthing, the need
to wander while eating, self-injury
in the oral area, low caloric
intake, reflux, aspiration,
laryngeal penetration, etc.
When these problems are life-threatening,
children are placed on Nasogastric
tubes (N-G tubes) or Gastric
tubes (G-tubes), or J-pegs.
Other,
related speech problems include:
difficulty motor-planning
speech (dyspraxia), phonological
processing problems, and articulation
disorder/delay.
The Oral-motor,
Speech, and Feeding clinic
is designed for expert, multi-disciplinary
support and problem-solving
for such issues. The clinic
is available by appointment
only, and a multidisciplinary
team will be assembled as
needed. A Speech Pathologist,
an Occupational Therapist,
a Physical Therapist, and
a Nutritionist, are often
part of the team.
If your
child is experiencing non-traditional
speech or feeding issues,
we highly recommend this clinic.
The focus will be multidisciplinary
problem-solving to design
a strategic home and/or clinic
program, along with a schedule
for follow-up.
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