[tri-med] Re: Chewing?

Hi Wendi.  I'm so excited I can actually offer some help!  OK, so Little Miss 
Sunshine (Candace) had (and still has some) sensory and muscle issues with her 
mouth.  She does the same thing - will hold things in her mouth until they 
dissolve and did spit them out if she couldn't get them down.  It has gotten a 
lot better where she actually chews most of her food, but only until it is just 
barely small enough to swallow (my husband chews food like two times and 
swallows - I think she gets this from him).  We did a lot of sensory things, 
such as using a vibrating star for her to put in her mouth (she didn't like it 
much, but we managed a little), gave her a toothbrush to chew on (she hates to 
have her teeth brushed so this is kind a two-fold thing for me) and when she 
bit down on it, I would say chew to help her understand that biting down means 
chew, I put something like a cheese puff into the side of her mouth and pushed 
up on her jaw (that way if she didn't continue chewing, her saliva would break 
it down), and when she was eating, I would eat too and make REALLY exaggerated 
movements for chewing (it sounded gross) and said how great this was and just 
kept saying "chew, chew, chew".  I still have to do this once in a while, kind 
of like a reminder.  I also tried to find some things that she loved to eat, 
and she loves chocolate (a girl after my own heart lol).  So once she had the 
cheeto thing down, I gave her a small piece of Hershey's chocolate bar (the 
really thin ones) and again made her take a bite.  For the first week or two, 
she would just move the chocolate up to the roof of her mouth and work it with 
her tongue.  I think she figured out if she chewed, she could get more 
chocolate faster.  So when she started chewing that up, I moved on to something 
different.  She does not eat steak, roast, pork chops, or any raw veges.  But 
she eats a lot more than what she did.  We'll just keep trying.  I hope this 
helps.  If I can help any other way, let me know.
 
   
Kim Ihlenfeldt, husband Kerry (complex balanced translocation 9, 15, and 18 
chromosomes), son Cameron 9 (same genetics as Dad), Cayden T-18 (12-16-02 to 
01-16-03), and Candace 2 (Partial Trisomy 18 and Partial Trisomy 15)
 


> Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 07:34:28 -0800> From: wendijo24@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: 
> [tri-med] Chewing?> To: tri-med@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Anyone have any suggestions 
> on how to teach a kiddo how to chew? We've had numerous speech therapists, 
> who've tried different things, but none seem to really know what to do. 
> Jackson will hold crackers or corn puffs, etc, in his mouth until they 
> dissolve and then swallow. If there's a bit he can't manage, he'll gag and 
> throw up, or kick it back out with his tongue. > > We've tried chewy tubes, 
> tongue depressers on his molars, licorice, manual manipulation of his jaw, 
> texturizing his baby food, and the list goes on. Any ideas would be greatly 
> appreciated. He's excited about eating crackers and things, I just want to 
> make sure he can do it safely.> > Wendi, mom to Jackson, trisomy 4p, inverted 
> duplication, 3 years old! Baby boy due Jan 2!> > Building ___ooOOoo__ 
> Rainbows> www.trisomyonline.org> Families Helping Families On-line> 
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