6.27.10

I Just got the call! Mikaela was approved to receive Oral-Motor Therapy! And you ask, "What might that just be?" I'll explain it for you! Everyone knows Mikaela's 'faces' and how she doesn't smile much. It's very easy for her to give someone one of her looks, which we all enjoy! But I always knew there was something about Mikaela's mouth that was holding her back from a lot of things. A few weeks ago, another AMC Mom was looking at Mikaela's pictures (on facebook) and noticed how Mikaela's mouth was very similar to her son's. She said that the muscles around the corners of her mouth look really tight. My first thought was, "Finally! Someone sees something that I see!" She told me that as soon as her son received oral-motor therapy, within 2 weeks he was smiling more, eating with a spoon better and even puckering his lips. Seeing Naomi, and how she puts everything in her mouth, chews on things and is always using her facial muscles, it makes complete sense! Mikaela could never bring her hands to her mouth and do all the things the "typical" child does. If they don't use the muscles, it will just tighten up. So at home I have started working on Oral Motor Exercises and it seems to be helping! If you'd like to see more about it, here is one of the websites. If you are a parent who would like to see a list of websites to help your child, please email me and I will forward them to you.

Effective Oral Motor Exercises You Can do at Home