My daughter, now 13 years old, has grown up with delayed and disordered speech and lots of dribbling (officially diagnosed as 'excessive drooling'). At the moment, we are having a little break from the dribbling due to an unexpected side effect of one of the medications she is taking! However, I cannot tell you how many bandana dribble bibs we have used over the years! That's why I feel like I know what makes a good special needs bib!
I know what it is like to live for years with speech and dribble disorders. Tara's problems have been caused by many issues including enlarged tonsils, mouth breathing, poor oral motor planning and low oral muscle tone. It is well-studied that early intervention in speech, language and oral disorders is vital to encourage development and decrease symptoms. Unfortunately, NHS speech and language therapy support is chronically underfunded and in scarce supply so inevitably the responsibility falls to us, as parents, to introduce oral motor therapy.
Dribbling past the stage of infancy has many different potential causes: medical issues with tonsils, adenoids, sinuses, and/or salivary glands; mouth breathing from allergies, sinus issues or dental issues; being easily distracted so swallowing less frequently; reduced oral sensory processing so unable to make sense of the information coming in through the senses; downward posture or position needing improved trunk control, adequate head support and anchored feet; and low oral tone in the lips, jaw, and/or tongue possibly associated with conditions such as verbal dyspraxia and cerebral palsy. In fact, the problem is quite common in children and adults with special needs, disabilities or dementia.
Speech is a complex skill involving controlling parts of the mouth and nose to shape the air that comes from the lungs. These 'speech articulators' include the tongue, lips and teeth, the alveolar ridge, the palate, the velum, and the nasal cavity. Oral motor exercises, working on lip closure, jaw strength, tongue retraction and chewing, can help develop speech skills, oral motor planning, build muscle tone and improve sensory processing. So I wanted to share with you 5 non-medical interventions which I have used with my own daughter to help improve her speech and reduce excessive dribbling.
ARK's Z-Vibe®
The Z-Vibe is a vibratory oral motor tool that can help build oral tone and improve a variety of speech, feeding, and sensory skills. We have used it to provide a varied sensory experience and to provide targeted tactile cues. Its gentle vibration provides sensory stimulation to increase oral focus and draw more attention to the lips, tongue, cheeks, and jaw. Vibration can also be very calming, soothing, and organising. The Z Vibe has over 35 tip attachments which help develop and practice all types of oral skills and you can buy an accompanying book to support you.
If you are anything like me, you will have tried billions of cups to wean your child off baby bottles. However, this is one I can really recommend. This fun flexible Bear drinking bottle with helps to teach straw drinking. Straw drinking not only promotes correct oral posture but opens up a whole new range of drinking possibilities when you are out and about.
The yellow lip block exercises oral muscles and promotes correct tongue position and a special valve keeps fluid at the top of the straw - decreasing effort required to drink and lowering the risk of coughing or choking. We used this bottle repeatedly, first by just squeezing the bear to move liquid up the straw and into the mouth and amazingly, after a while, Tara slowly got the hang of sucking the drink up through the straw.
Chewy Tubes
The hand held Chewy Tube, is designed to help children with their chewing skills and provide sensory feedback with a non-toxic and safe surface.
The chewy tube provides a resilient non-food chewable toy for children to practice their biting skills and is excellent for identifying and working on jaw movement to build strength and for children with excessive chewing habits.
Vibrating Teether, Vibrating Toothbrush and Syringe
Using gentle vibration can target multiple areas of function including motor, emotional regulation, and sensory. However, you don't have to pay the earth to reap the benefits. Everyday items such as a vibrating toothbrush and a vibrating teether can also help a child increase their awareness of their speech articulators, 'switch-on' their muscles and provide calming sensory input.
You can also use a small (non-needle) syringe to place baby food, yogurt or liquid pudding into different parts of the mouth and encouraging the child to use their tongue to move the liquid or to lick food off their lips. For best results, offer a variety of food and drink such as ice-pops, hot and cold food, spicy food and ice-cream for different sensory experiences.
Blowing toys
Learning to blow helps breath control for speech. There are lots of toys which can help encourage your child to learn and practice blowing. Some of our favourites have been water flutes, bird water whistles and recorders.
Do you have any suggestions? Please let me know about any products you would recommend for oral development in the comments below or how you get on trying any of the above items. Good luck!
Disclaimer: Please stay safe! I am not a qualified Speech and Language Therapist or doctor. Please consult your GP, paediatrician, speech and language therapist and individual product instructions on the suitability and safety of these items for the ability and age of your child. The author accepts no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information supplied and will not be liable for any loss of money, time or any injury resulting from omissions or inaccurate or out of date information supplied within in this blog post. Any links to external websites have been carefully selected, but are provided without any endorsement of the products or content of those sites. This article contains affiliate links.
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