Welcome to “On the Horizon”

Issue 83:  Oral Motor and Its Affect on Feeding Disorders

On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.

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Recognizing Symptoms

A Note from Nicole: Keeping Healthy

Idea of the Week:  Homemade Beanbag Balls

Feature Article: Oral Motor and Its Affect on Feeding Disorders

The Horizons Team Recommends: Raising Minds®; Horizons Workshops

Upcoming Events: CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar; Sibshop

Hi Everyone!

I hope this finds you healthy during what seems like an early start to the cold and flu season this year.  Here in Michigan we have had entire schools and community events closed due to illness.  It’s good reminder that we need to take care of ourselves and do everything we can to boost our immunity during these months.  For my family that means consistent use of vitamins; extra vitamin C, zinc, and Echinacea; probiotics (most of our immune system is in our gut); and lots of hand washing.  It also means we need to get enough sleep and not allow ourselves to get too stressed or run down, as all those these weaken our immunity.  Stay healthy everyone!

This week I want to draw your attention to the workshops we have coming up in November.  There is an opportunity for school professionals to attend a one-day workshop that will provide simple but powerful tips to implement right away in order to support student learning and behavior.  We are also offering a one-day session for family members called Day of Change.  Participants will learn 5 simple steps to use with their children to improve communication, behavior, and relationships.  This is a great workshop for grandparents and other family members and friends interested in learning about a remediation approach to autism.  Check out both workshop opportunities www.HorizonsDRCWorkshops.com.

Enjoy your week!

Looking to the horizon,

Homemade Beanbag Balls

To create these fun beanbag balls you’ll need to collect three 11-inch balloons, a funnel, scissors, and about 1 cup of dried lentils or rice.  First you’ll want to take 1 balloon and inflate it halfway.  Hold it closed for about 30 seconds and then deflate it.  Then place the funnel in the balloon’s neck and gradually pour in about 1 cup of the lentils or rice, pushing them in as you go.  The balloon should be firm but squeezable.  Then take another balloon and snip off the balloon’s thick rubber lip and gently stretch the opening.  Ease the 2nd balloon over the filled balloon, tucking in the neck from the 1st balloon as you go.  Cut the neck from the 3rd balloon, stretch the opening, and ease it over the other two and when you are done with that you have your homemade beanbag ball.

Oral Motor and Its Affect on Feeding Disorders

By: Erin Roon, MA CCC-SLP

What is an oral motor deficit?  An oral motor deficit affects the musculature of the mouth including the lips, tongue, and jaw.  The following are causes of oral motor disorders:

• Incorrect motor programming of the muscles of the mouth.  In other words, the brain sends a message to the muscles of the mouth, but the muscles don’t receive the message or it is misinterpreted.  This causes the muscles either to not move at all, or to move in an incorrect fashion that results in mismanagement of food in the mouth.
• Low muscle tone, meaning the muscles of the lip, tongue, or jaw are weak.  Many times children with low muscle tone in the jaw have an open mouth posture.  Difficulty with puckering, drinking from a straw, or frequent spilling of liquids when drinking is caused by weak lip strength.  Poor tongue strength can result in an inability to stick the tongue out, or move it from side to side.  Drooling can also be caused by weakness in the muscles of the mouth.  Strengthening these muscles can be very important in improving both feeding deficits and speech intelligibility.

Continued…

HorizonsDRCWorkshops.com

You Have Questions.
We Have Answers.

Join us for learning experiences designed to provide you with the information, tools, and motivation you need to make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Horizons
Workshop Opportunities

• Evaluating for Autism: The Nuts and Bolts of Quality School-Based Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations

• Autism in the Classroom: Simple & Effective Strategies to Learn Today and Use Tomorrow

• Day of Change: A Groundbreaking Workshop for Parents of Children with Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders

• Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition

For more information, click here

Discover a Source of Information
and Support for Parents Just Like You!

Imagine for a moment what your life would be like if you knew how to
identify and address the biggest obstacles facing your child. I’m
talking about the core issues that create difficulties for your child,
for you, for your family, and for anyone else involved in your child’s
life. What would it be like if you could help your child learn to:

• Attend to the right things at the right time
• Thoughtfully communicate—not just talk in memorized or mechanical ways
• Be genuinely interested in the emotions, ideas, and actions of others
• Take responsibility for actions
• Flexibly adapt to change
• Understand the intentions of others
• Come up with creative ideas and solutions
• Have meaningful conversations
• Develop curiosity about other people, events, and things in the environment
• Be self-aware—know who s/he is as a person and how s/he is being perceived by others

The information available at Raising Minds® will help you understand exactly what deficit areas require treatment and how to accomplish that, while lowering your stress in the process.

Now, just imagine the peace you will bring to yourself and your
family, not to mention the results you’ll create for your child, when
you have 24/7 access to the information, resources, and motivation you
need to understand your child’s needs and powerfully impact his/her
development.

Please join us!

• CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar: Q&A with Michelle & Courtney
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Monday, November 2, 2009 from 1:30-2:30 PM EST
• Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
  Open to everyone!
  Saturday, November 7, 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
• Horizons Parent Education Day
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Topic: Remediation-Friendly Treatments for Feeding Problems and Sensory Processing Disorders
  Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 10am-4pm
• CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar: Topic: TBD
  (Horizons Families Only)
  Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 11:00-12:00 PM EST
• Workshop – Autism in the Classroom: Simple &
  Effective Strategies to Learn Today and Use Tomorrow 
  Friday, November 20, 2009
• Workshop – Day of Change: A
  Groundbreaking Workshop for Parents of Children with Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  Saturday, November 21, 2009
• Workshop – Evaluating for Autism: The
  Nuts and Bolts of Quality School-Based Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations
  Thursday, Feburary 11, 2009
• Workshop – Autism in the Classroom: Simple &
  Effective Strategies to Learn Today and Use Tomorrow 
  Friday, March 12, 2009
• Workshop – Day of Change: A
  Groundbreaking Workshop for Parents of Children with Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  Saturday, March 13, 2009
• Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition
  August 4-6, 2010