Hi. Alex is continuing his PreChaining program. We are working on bottle/liquid to treat the swallow and I am using the DuoSpoon, P and Q chew tubes dipped in food to work to develop his chewing and biting skills. He is not safe for solids yet, so he can swallow the smooth food and practice chewing on the textured utensils. He is also making his tongue less sensitive to contact and desensitizing the gag. I always ask parents if the kids are putting their hands in the mouth and triggering the gag. Jessica told me that Alex was doing this and she was worried about it. I told her I was thrilled about it. She too looked at me like I was crazy. Babies are hard wired to do this and Alex has significantly desensitized himself with no help needed from me. A baby gags easily and forward on the tongue for protection. You and I gag way back on the tongue, if we did not, we could not eat a piece of steak or solids without a huge gag triggering. Alex doesn't need me tongue walking or anything else. I am facilitating his oral motor and he is doing his therapy, building confidence and working on self feeding at the same time. I am so proud of my boy and so blessed to work with him. Lots of vocalizations too. Check out Jessica's blog, "A New Kind of Normal" too for more on this.
Check out Jessica's blog, "A New Kind of Normal" too for more on this.