The Oral Motor Cookbook, Part 1

by Carolinda "Trini" Myers-MurphyI am often approached by parents with questions for feeding low tone children. A low tone child is a child diagnosed by a doctor with low muscle tone and typically needs to work with an occupational therapist. This condition also afects the strength of a child's articulator and muscles for eating as well. We typically see struggles with having enough muscle strength to support the smaller muscles for eating and speaking.As we work with them to strengthen these fine motor skills, we try to challenge them with different types of foods, textures, flavors, and sizes. The chart below will give you some ideas of the progression you may be looking for - from formula, to spoon feeding, cubed solids, strip foods and drink suggestions. Don't be shy to incorporate flavors & encourage your kiddos to try something new!