Oral Motor Fun with Party Favors

Big Brother needs lots of oral motor input. First of all, he craves it. Secondly, he has always had low muscle tone in his face and needs to exercise those muscles.

There are lot of fun party favors out there that provide just the right kind of oral-motor stimulation (and don't necessarily make a lot of noise). They are cheap, readily-available at the corner store, and make great "treats" that aren't junk food or useless toys.

Party favors also make great alerting activities. They have often helped Big Brother stay alert when he is in danger of slipping into a low state of arousal at an inappropriate time. The car is a common place for this to happen. Several months back, I learned the benefits of maintaining an even, balanced state throughout the day, and avoiding severe highs and lows. 

Another possible benefit to all these oral motor activities is the breath work that's involved. When I wrote about the Blow the Sheep Out of the Pen activity last month, a reader suggested that the deep breathing required to do the activity was significant. I had never thought of that, but it does make sense. The child is probably getting more oxygen which may help him feel more calm. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

Here are some of our favorite oral-motor party favors. Most of these items came from the grocery store or party store, and cost less than $5. The lips are particularly great because the child has to really use those lip muscles to hold on.

Little Brother Stopped Sucking His Fingers?!?!

This past week we realized that Little Brother, who is three and a half, hasn't been sucking his fingers! He started this habit not long after he turned one. That was almost two and a half years ago.

This kind of dramatic change certainly wasn't on my radar. We can't think of any reasons to explain it. The last picture I could find with him sucking his fingers was from about a month ago.

I'm amazed that he just stopped without any prompting. I'm even more amazed that as much as a month has gone by without me noticing this major shift that was happening right under my nose.

I guess I always expected Big Brother, who is five and a half,  to give up his finger-sucking habit first. My reasoning was that if I could manage to get Big Brother to stop first, then I'd work on Little Brother next. All the while, Little Brother was working it out for himself just fine, and Big Brother is still sucking away.

I guess it goes to show that all children have their own set of sensory issues and develop at their own pace.  Perhaps this experience will help me to remember that cajoling and harassing a child to do something (or stop doing something) before they are are developmentally ready doesn't do anything except drive us both crazy!

Although I'm thrilled that Little Brother has outgrown this habit naturally without a single bit of muss or fuss, I have to admit it's so, so, so hard to see yet another little piece of his baby self disappear. 

I want him to grow up, but I want him to stay little.

Snacks + Skewers = Fun

 

Oral-Motor Activity: Blow the Sheep Out of the Pen

Does your child crave oral-motor input or have low facial muscle tone? Check out this fun oral-motor activity I wrote about on Our Journey Thru Autism.

Guest Post: Fruit Roll-Up Fingers

Check out my guest post today on Our Journey Through Autism called, Fruit Roll-Up Fingers.  I give a step-by-step explanation for implementing this this fun and delicious oral-motor activity suggested by my occupational therapist.