Guest guest Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 I'm considering trying a myomunchee with my daughter (almost 2 years) and was wondering what, is any success/advice others might have? Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Janice always says good things about them, but she's on vacation. If you don't get a response, post again when she's back. in NJ > > I'm considering trying a myomunchee with my daughter (almost 2 years) > and was wondering what, is any success/advice others might have? > > Thanks so much. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 based on the photos in this website http://www.teethperfect.com/ it also looks like it's two myomunchees in one. Both an oral motor tool and an invisalign! http://www.arlingtondental.com/invisalign.htm I'm sure way cheaper than the invisalign too!! I've never used it -but here are some archives from the 2-3 that did including from Janice: With Mark, I can probably pinpoint his speech issues to a few major causes. In no particular order, here they are: #1) Low tone of the face, jaw, mouth and lips. Remediated through the use of a 'myomunchee' (jaw & face), horns & straw program by Talktools (lips and mouth) plus a lot of lip strengthening exercises. #2) Oral motor coordination (motor planning) issues of the tongue. Tongue placement and 'dexterity' is extremely important and I have found that my boy is/was terrible with tongue coordination. We used bite blocks (the end of a wooden spoon will do as well) placed in the mouth at the back molar and had Mark put his tongue there and when he could do this proficiently, wiggle it too. Then the block is removed and replaced to have the exercise repeated. 5 times on each side. We also did an exercise (this one is really hard) to work his tongue. Take a mixer blade and cover a portion of it with peanut butter. Have the child lick off the peanut butter using his tongue while keeping his jaw stable. He is not to move his jaw as a means of moving his tongue. We are trying for good separation here between the jaw and the tongue. I notice that Mark has real difficulty in making his tongue go upwards (i.e.. licking an ice- cream cone) and prefers to lick with his tongue downwards. We also do a couple of exercises emphasising oral/nasal contrasts and working the back of his throat for sound usage (vellum), getting it to open and close more efficiently for sound production. #3) Tonal Processing: We used the Listening Program daily to remediate and eliminate all of the tonal processing issues that Mark had. This includes speaking 'TOO LOUDLY', saying " WHAT? " all of the time and also getting rid of the elimination of consonants off of words that he says. Believe me, if the child is not hearing it, he is never going to say it! He also used to take 'runs' at sentences i.e.. " I want to go, I want to go, I want to go......(pause) to the store (pause) and get some candy " . It used to take him a long time to 'spit it out' efficiently. This should have been an issue with auditory short term memory BUT it actually became eliminated when we used The Listening Program. (????) #4) Auditory Processing speed and short term auditory memory: We used digit spans to normalize this area for my child. He had the short term auditory memory of a 5 year old at the age of 11. In about 9 months, we brought this up to normal levels. This completely changed his ability to follow directions, remember sequences etc. and tell interesting and humorous stories without getting lost in his thoughts. It vastly altered his relations with other kids, adults and profoundly affected his confidence and self-esteem. In addition, I noticed that his TV preferences became more age appropriate and mature. He used to watch shows designed for much younger children! With all of this auditory nonsense going on, it is easy to miss what your child is 'GIFTED' in. I proudly proclaim that we just got the results in from Mark's grade 6 achievement tests. In the entire province of Alberta (Canada), he scored a 96% in reading comprehension and ability! As these marks are all on a curve, this is indeed an achievement! My son is one of the best readers in our province..... So, don't forget.... while our kids may not seem too with it 'conversationally', they are often extremely gifted readers and have wonderful visual memories! Take advantage of this..... I would say that Mark is the 'average' dyspraxic kid so..... I'll bet all of you have wonderful little readers just waiting to be discovered. When you do discover this in your child, take advantage of it. Get them wide varieties of fiction and non-fiction literature so that they have the opportunity to get ahead in this world through this wonderful and amazing gift. Janice Mother of Mark, 12 [sPAM] Re: [ ] Re: myomunchie For anyone interested I finally got my daughter to take the myomunchie by putting banana powder on it. I ordered it from the talktools website . Her slp uses the banana powder for her oral motor exercises and she just LOVES it, although she will not eat a banana. Sharon I just ordered one http://www.teethperfect.com/ a speech pathologist who is also a orofacial myologist said these are good. My son has apraxia and she said it would be good oral motor strengthening and build awareness. We'll see - they are only $40. Nora On Sep 20, 2007, at 10:11 AM, emonline2000 wrote: > We just started with a new therapist (our old one left town). I am > having problems adjusting, > as she is very, very different that our previous therapist, but I > am trying to keep an open > mind. > > As she was leaving last time, she said she thought my child would > benefit from a > " myomunchee. " When I asked what its purpose was, she did answer me, > but honestly, I have > no idea what she was telling me. All I understood was that it had > something to do with > chewing. > > I will ask her again next time, but has anyone else used these? I > think it was mentioned on > the board (Janice, maybe?). > > Thanks! > > Em ===== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 Do they actually make them small enough for the little kids? I figure we will wait for the eval but wondered. > > > We just started with a new therapist (our old one left town). I am > > having problems adjusting, > > as she is very, very different that our previous therapist, but I > > am trying to keep an open > > mind. > > > > As she was leaving last time, she said she thought my child would > > benefit from a > > " myomunchee. " When I asked what its purpose was, she did answer me, > > but honestly, I have > > no idea what she was telling me. All I understood was that it had > > something to do with > > chewing. > > > > I will ask her again next time, but has anyone else used these? I > > think it was mentioned on > > the board (Janice, maybe?). > > > > Thanks! > > > > Em > > ===== > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 We use the myomunchee on Charlie, per Janice's suggestion. ST never heard of it, but were happy to use it. Yes, they do make them small enough. I got mine at the NACD on-line store. [ ] Re: Myomunchees? Do they actually make them small enough for the little kids? I figure we will wait for the eval but wondered. > > > We just started with a new therapist (our old one left town). I am > > having problems adjusting, > > as she is very, very different that our previous therapist, but I > > am trying to keep an open > > mind. > > > > As she was leaving last time, she said she thought my child would > > benefit from a > > " myomunchee. " When I asked what its purpose was, she did answer me, > > but honestly, I have > > no idea what she was telling me. All I understood was that it had > > something to do with > > chewing. > > > > I will ask her again next time, but has anyone else used these? I > > think it was mentioned on > > the board (Janice, maybe?). > > > > Thanks! > > > > Em > > ===== > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2008 Report Share Posted March 2, 2008 , Per Janice, I went on line and got the myomunchee at the NACD store back in Sept or Oct. We use it with ST and it works well to build muscle tone in the jaw. We would use it for a minute at a time and build up. We saw good strengthening in general. For US it was a great exercise. Thanks, Colleen Mother of Charlie 2.5 years [ ] Myomunchees? I'm considering trying a myomunchee with my daughter (almost 2 years) and was wondering what, is any success/advice others might have? Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 , Home from NACD now! Yes, we used a myomunchee daily for 15 minutes a day for 3 months (chewing the whole while) to build muscle tone in the cheek and jaw for Mark. He hated the taste but someone found some flavored lemon (?) crystals or 'something' (use your imagination since this is a great jaw workout) to put on theirs to make it tastier! I cannot remember who but I am pretty sure that it was someone on this board. Since Mark has 'global' dyspraxia, we have had to do the same thing for his entire body.... not just the face. We needed to build muscle tone everywhere, in the throat, jaw, cheek, lips and then we had to work on oral motor skills. We have had to do this with his arms, legs, torso and to stimulate his sense of 'feeling' with deep pressure to get his whole body working properly. The areas that seem to take the longest to get working properly are speech and fine motor skills..... with fine motor being definately the worse of the two for my Mark. It is because there are so many fine, small muscles in the hands and they are responsible for so much work. We also begin remediation of fine motor skills much later than we work on speech. We notice that our child is a late talker by 2.5 or 3 years old and 'see' the problem and then go to work to fix it. Unfortunately we don't really comprehend the magnitude of fine motor issues in dyspraxic childrnen until they are in grade 2 or so. Picture going through life with no hands but having everyone expect you to operate as though you do! That is what it is like to have dyspraxia. Mark calls it being 'trapped' inside of a body that doesn't work. At our evaluation this week, Alison wants me to NOT think of Mark as dyspraxic any more and to raise the bar of expectations. She feels his issues are very minor and no longer considers him at risk. Of course, I am not quite there since I 'know' that those hands need more work and his speech is still slightly 'off' especially when speaking to people he doesn't know well. He came up 14 months improvement in maths this term and is just soaring along in his academic abilities! So, please take heart..... we CAN beat global dyspraxia...... I will not lie to you..... it is a tremendous amount of work, dedication and commitment but even starting my 'WAR on dyspraxia' at 11 which is darn late (not to say that we didn't do therapy just not to the same level or desparation)...... BUT..... we did it so please those of you with little tykes with global dyspraxia/apraxia who feel frightened and overwhelmed, know in your heart that if an 11 year old can come back and recover, so can your little one~! I promise.... Janice Mother of Mark, 13 [ ] Myomunchees? I'm considering trying a myomunchee with my daughter (almost 2 years) and was wondering what, is any success/advice others might have? Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Well it is so nice to hear you taling about building muscle tone. I took my son to Talk Tools in Tucson and had an eval done on him, and he has lots of low tone and some apraxia (though not sure how much due to the level of low tone). I am so excited to start their program. But then a speech therapist I spoke to recently told me you can't improve muscle strenght in your mouth and that all the oral motor programs will be a waste of time??? This made no sense to me because they say you have to eat to strenghten the muscles in your mouth for speech, so how can using tools to do this more be useless? Rambling here, but my point is that I am glad to hear that oral motor exercises can help. Michele > > , > > Home from NACD now! Yes, we used a myomunchee daily for 15 minutes a day for 3 months (chewing the whole while) to build muscle tone in the cheek and jaw for Mark. He hated the taste but someone found some flavored lemon (?) crystals or 'something' (use your imagination since this is a great jaw workout) to put on theirs to make it tastier! I cannot remember who but I am pretty sure that it was someone on this board. > > Since Mark has 'global' dyspraxia, we have had to do the same thing for his entire body.... not just the face. We needed to build muscle tone everywhere, in the throat, jaw, cheek, lips and then we had to work on oral motor skills. > > We have had to do this with his arms, legs, torso and to stimulate his sense of 'feeling' with deep pressure to get his whole body working properly. The areas that seem to take the longest to get working properly are speech and fine motor skills..... with fine motor being definately the worse of the two for my Mark. It is because there are so many fine, small muscles in the hands and they are responsible for so much work. We also begin remediation of fine motor skills much later than we work on speech. We notice that our child is a late talker by 2.5 or 3 years old and 'see' the problem and then go to work to fix it. Unfortunately we don't really comprehend the magnitude of fine motor issues in dyspraxic childrnen until they are in grade 2 or so. Picture going through life with no hands but having everyone expect you to operate as though you do! That is what it is like to have dyspraxia. Mark calls it being 'trapped' inside of a body that doesn't work. > > At our evaluation this week, Alison wants me to NOT think of Mark as dyspraxic any more and to raise the bar of expectations. She feels his issues are very minor and no longer considers him at risk. Of course, I am not quite there since I 'know' that those hands need more work and his speech is still slightly 'off' especially when speaking to people he doesn't know well. He came up 14 months improvement in maths this term and is just soaring along in his academic abilities! > > So, please take heart..... we CAN beat global dyspraxia...... I will not lie to you..... it is a tremendous amount of work, dedication and commitment but even starting my 'WAR on dyspraxia' at 11 which is darn late (not to say that we didn't do therapy just not to the same level or desparation)...... BUT..... we did it so please those of you with little tykes with global dyspraxia/apraxia who feel frightened and overwhelmed, know in your heart that if an 11 year old can come back and recover, so can your little one~! > > I promise.... > > Janice > Mother of Mark, 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 I would ask her why Superduper sell the tools if tyhey are wotrthless. > > > > , > > > > Home from NACD now! Yes, we used a myomunchee daily for 15 minutes > a day for 3 months (chewing the whole while) to build muscle tone in > the cheek and jaw for Mark. He hated the taste but someone found > some flavored lemon (?) crystals or 'something' (use your imagination > since this is a great jaw workout) to put on theirs to make it > tastier! I cannot remember who but I am pretty sure that it was > someone on this board. > > > > Since Mark has 'global' dyspraxia, we have had to do the same thing > for his entire body.... not just the face. We needed to build muscle > tone everywhere, in the throat, jaw, cheek, lips and then we had to > work on oral motor skills. > > > > We have had to do this with his arms, legs, torso and to stimulate > his sense of 'feeling' with deep pressure to get his whole body > working properly. The areas that seem to take the longest to get > working properly are speech and fine motor skills..... with fine > motor being definately the worse of the two for my Mark. It is > because there are so many fine, small muscles in the hands and they > are responsible for so much work. We also begin remediation of fine > motor skills much later than we work on speech. We notice that our > child is a late talker by 2.5 or 3 years old and 'see' the problem > and then go to work to fix it. Unfortunately we don't really > comprehend the magnitude of fine motor issues in dyspraxic childrnen > until they are in grade 2 or so. Picture going through life with no > hands but having everyone expect you to operate as though you do! > That is what it is like to have dyspraxia. Mark calls it > being 'trapped' inside of a body that doesn't work. > > > > At our evaluation this week, Alison wants me to NOT think of Mark > as dyspraxic any more and to raise the bar of expectations. She > feels his issues are very minor and no longer considers him at risk. > Of course, I am not quite there since I 'know' that those hands need > more work and his speech is still slightly 'off' especially when > speaking to people he doesn't know well. He came up 14 months > improvement in maths this term and is just soaring along in his > academic abilities! > > > > So, please take heart..... we CAN beat global dyspraxia...... I > will not lie to you..... it is a tremendous amount of work, > dedication and commitment but even starting my 'WAR on dyspraxia' at > 11 which is darn late (not to say that we didn't do therapy just not > to the same level or desparation)...... BUT..... we did it so please > those of you with little tykes with global dyspraxia/apraxia who > feel frightened and overwhelmed, know in your heart that if an 11 > year old can come back and recover, so can your little one~! > > > > I promise.... > > > > Janice > > Mother of Mark, 13 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 I do not know the answer to this -- but I do know that there is a HUGE debate in the speech therapy world over this. If professionals can't agree, not sure how we are supposed to figure it out. We have had therapists who have used only oral motor (mostly talk tools); some who have used a combination (oral motor and traditional repetition), and one who totally believed that the oral motor was a waste of time. Confusing!!! , " ilizzy03 " <lizlaw@...> wrote: > > I would ask her why Superduper sell the tools if tyhey are wotrthless. > > > > > > > > , > > > > > > Home from NACD now! Yes, we used a myomunchee daily for 15 > minutes > > a day for 3 months (chewing the whole while) to build muscle tone in > > the cheek and jaw for Mark. He hated the taste but someone found > > some flavored lemon (?) crystals or 'something' (use your > imagination > > since this is a great jaw workout) to put on theirs to make it > > tastier! I cannot remember who but I am pretty sure that it was > > someone on this board. > > > > > > Since Mark has 'global' dyspraxia, we have had to do the same > thing > > for his entire body.... not just the face. We needed to build > muscle > > tone everywhere, in the throat, jaw, cheek, lips and then we had to > > work on oral motor skills. > > > > > > We have had to do this with his arms, legs, torso and to stimulate > > his sense of 'feeling' with deep pressure to get his whole body > > working properly. The areas that seem to take the longest to get > > working properly are speech and fine motor skills..... with fine > > motor being definately the worse of the two for my Mark. It is > > because there are so many fine, small muscles in the hands and they > > are responsible for so much work. We also begin remediation of fine > > motor skills much later than we work on speech. We notice that our > > child is a late talker by 2.5 or 3 years old and 'see' the problem > > and then go to work to fix it. Unfortunately we don't really > > comprehend the magnitude of fine motor issues in dyspraxic childrnen > > until they are in grade 2 or so. Picture going through life with no > > hands but having everyone expect you to operate as though you do! > > That is what it is like to have dyspraxia. Mark calls it > > being 'trapped' inside of a body that doesn't work. > > > > > > At our evaluation this week, Alison wants me to NOT think of Mark > > as dyspraxic any more and to raise the bar of expectations. She > > feels his issues are very minor and no longer considers him at risk. > > Of course, I am not quite there since I 'know' that those hands need > > more work and his speech is still slightly 'off' especially when > > speaking to people he doesn't know well. He came up 14 months > > improvement in maths this term and is just soaring along in his > > academic abilities! > > > > > > So, please take heart..... we CAN beat global dyspraxia...... I > > will not lie to you..... it is a tremendous amount of work, > > dedication and commitment but even starting my 'WAR on dyspraxia' at > > 11 which is darn late (not to say that we didn't do therapy just not > > to the same level or desparation)...... BUT..... we did it so please > > those of you with little tykes with global dyspraxia/apraxia who > > feel frightened and overwhelmed, know in your heart that if an 11 > > year old can come back and recover, so can your little one~! > > > > > > I promise.... > > > > > > Janice > > > Mother of Mark, 13 > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Janice, Great news! Very inspiring story!!!! > > , > > Home from NACD now! Yes, we used a myomunchee daily for 15 minutes a day for 3 months (chewing the whole while) to build muscle tone in the cheek and jaw for Mark. He hated the taste but someone found some flavored lemon (?) crystals or 'something' (use your imagination since this is a great jaw workout) to put on theirs to make it tastier! I cannot remember who but I am pretty sure that it was someone on this board. > > Since Mark has 'global' dyspraxia, we have had to do the same thing for his entire body.... not just the face. We needed to build muscle tone everywhere, in the throat, jaw, cheek, lips and then we had to work on oral motor skills. > > We have had to do this with his arms, legs, torso and to stimulate his sense of 'feeling' with deep pressure to get his whole body working properly. The areas that seem to take the longest to get working properly are speech and fine motor skills..... with fine motor being definately the worse of the two for my Mark. It is because there are so many fine, small muscles in the hands and they are responsible for so much work. We also begin remediation of fine motor skills much later than we work on speech. We notice that our child is a late talker by 2.5 or 3 years old and 'see' the problem and then go to work to fix it. Unfortunately we don't really comprehend the magnitude of fine motor issues in dyspraxic childrnen until they are in grade 2 or so. Picture going through life with no hands but having everyone expect you to operate as though you do! That is what it is like to have dyspraxia. Mark calls it being 'trapped' inside of a body that doesn't work. > > At our evaluation this week, Alison wants me to NOT think of Mark as dyspraxic any more and to raise the bar of expectations. She feels his issues are very minor and no longer considers him at risk. Of course, I am not quite there since I 'know' that those hands need more work and his speech is still slightly 'off' especially when speaking to people he doesn't know well. He came up 14 months improvement in maths this term and is just soaring along in his academic abilities! > > So, please take heart..... we CAN beat global dyspraxia...... I will not lie to you..... it is a tremendous amount of work, dedication and commitment but even starting my 'WAR on dyspraxia' at 11 which is darn late (not to say that we didn't do therapy just not to the same level or desparation)...... BUT..... we did it so please those of you with little tykes with global dyspraxia/apraxia who feel frightened and overwhelmed, know in your heart that if an 11 year old can come back and recover, so can your little one~! > > I promise.... > > Janice > Mother of Mark, 13 > > > > > [ ] Myomunchees? > > I'm considering trying a myomunchee with my daughter (almost 2 years) > and was wondering what, is any success/advice others might have? > > Thanks so much. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Thanks for the heads up. I was willing to try it so long as it would not hurt. I will run it by our new ST. It never occurred to me there would be debate over this. I mean I know generally that our OT said tone cannot be improved but rather worked around. I just thought that is what the myomunchee did. I better ask. The ST is working well for us so I don't want to mess that up. > > > > > > > > , > > > > > > > > Home from NACD now! Yes, we used a myomunchee daily for 15 > > minutes > > > a day for 3 months (chewing the whole while) to build muscle tone in > > > the cheek and jaw for Mark. He hated the taste but someone found > > > some flavored lemon (?) crystals or 'something' (use your > > imagination > > > since this is a great jaw workout) to put on theirs to make it > > > tastier! I cannot remember who but I am pretty sure that it was > > > someone on this board. > > > > > > > > Since Mark has 'global' dyspraxia, we have had to do the same > > thing > > > for his entire body.... not just the face. We needed to build > > muscle > > > tone everywhere, in the throat, jaw, cheek, lips and then we had to > > > work on oral motor skills. > > > > > > > > We have had to do this with his arms, legs, torso and to stimulate > > > his sense of 'feeling' with deep pressure to get his whole body > > > working properly. The areas that seem to take the longest to get > > > working properly are speech and fine motor skills..... with fine > > > motor being definately the worse of the two for my Mark. It is > > > because there are so many fine, small muscles in the hands and they > > > are responsible for so much work. We also begin remediation of fine > > > motor skills much later than we work on speech. We notice that our > > > child is a late talker by 2.5 or 3 years old and 'see' the problem > > > and then go to work to fix it. Unfortunately we don't really > > > comprehend the magnitude of fine motor issues in dyspraxic childrnen > > > until they are in grade 2 or so. Picture going through life with no > > > hands but having everyone expect you to operate as though you do! > > > That is what it is like to have dyspraxia. Mark calls it > > > being 'trapped' inside of a body that doesn't work. > > > > > > > > At our evaluation this week, Alison wants me to NOT think of Mark > > > as dyspraxic any more and to raise the bar of expectations. She > > > feels his issues are very minor and no longer considers him at risk. > > > Of course, I am not quite there since I 'know' that those hands need > > > more work and his speech is still slightly 'off' especially when > > > speaking to people he doesn't know well. He came up 14 months > > > improvement in maths this term and is just soaring along in his > > > academic abilities! > > > > > > > > So, please take heart..... we CAN beat global dyspraxia...... I > > > will not lie to you..... it is a tremendous amount of work, > > > dedication and commitment but even starting my 'WAR on dyspraxia' at > > > 11 which is darn late (not to say that we didn't do therapy just not > > > to the same level or desparation)...... BUT..... we did it so please > > > those of you with little tykes with global dyspraxia/apraxia who > > > feel frightened and overwhelmed, know in your heart that if an 11 > > > year old can come back and recover, so can your little one~! > > > > > > > > I promise.... > > > > > > > > Janice > > > > Mother of Mark, 13 > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 The huge debate is probably between those that were around but not to help my child and all the other children with apraxia going back a few years (ask anyone with a teen or adult now with apraxia...or even those of us like me that have kids that are older than 10) -and those of us that know what works because we had to do our own thesis with our own child! To me it's not a debate. Here's what I just wrote in my last email. > There is a political situation between those in the oral motor as > part of a strategy for some with apraxia camp and those in the think > they know everything but don't know jack camp. I'd get a new SLP if > I were you because the best ones know that they may need to pull from > various strategies to make the most progress with our multifaceted > children. Apraxia today is rarely " just " apraxia. And yes many > children with apraxia have sensory issues in the mouth -they over > stuff -have other feeding issues. Some like my son have trouble > moving their tongue or making facial movements on command. http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/oralapraxia.html ===== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Mark was in regular speech for 9.5 years and at one point simply stopped improving. We now do mostly oral-motor and it has been what he really needed. We still do some repetition but I prefer to have him read aloud for the variety so that I can keep an eye as to which words and sounds are 'outstanding' in his realm. I can tell you this..... without oral motor, we would still have severe articulation and oral/nasal issues. Also, Mark could barely lift his tongue to the roof of his mouth! I believe that every child is different and I KNOW that without oral motor, Mark would still be sounding like a toddler (as he was in July 2008 when we started oral motor speech) rather than the young man he is today. It completely changed everything. I do not believe that most therapists understand dyspraxia..... you need a firm understanding about motor planning issues in order to effectively help our kids. Their mouths do not do what their brains tell them to do. They need to build neural connections to get the body parts working and for that, we need exercises. Exercise the tongue, the throat, the jaw, the lips..... and get them working! Unless the body parts are following the directions from the brain, the child simply CANNOT do what you ask of them. PLease, I apologize if I have offended any SLP's who may be reading...... this is just my experience with my own child and as we all know..... every child is unique and an individual. What I have found is really counterproductive with our kids is this..... practicing things WRONG! When we practice a word, over and over again without the physical ability to say it correctly, we build improper habit. It is very, very difficult to change the habits of dyspraxic kids once learned! I mean.... close to impossible!!! So, don't ever practice anything 'wrong' because it is 'close-enough' and he'll learn the right thing eventually..... not so for our babies.... the error just gets entrenched into the sensory motor cortex and the child does it wrong FOREVER! This is my personal and most frustrating experience..... trying to undo the damage done is soooooo hard! (really, really, really..... [emphatically] really hard) We did a LOT of therapies to work oral motor..... Janice Mother of Mark, 13 [sPAM][ ] Re: Myomunchees? Thanks for the heads up. I was willing to try it so long as it would not hurt. I will run it by our new ST. It never occurred to me there would be debate over this. I mean I know generally that our OT said tone cannot be improved but rather worked around. I just thought that is what the myomunchee did. I better ask. The ST is working well for us so I don't want to mess that up. > > > > > > > > , > > > > > > > > Home from NACD now! Yes, we used a myomunchee daily for 15 > > minutes > > > a day for 3 months (chewing the whole while) to build muscle tone in > > > the cheek and jaw for Mark. He hated the taste but someone found > > > some flavored lemon (?) crystals or 'something' (use your > > imagination > > > since this is a great jaw workout) to put on theirs to make it > > > tastier! I cannot remember who but I am pretty sure that it was > > > someone on this board. > > > > > > > > Since Mark has 'global' dyspraxia, we have had to do the same > > thing > > > for his entire body.... not just the face. We needed to build > > muscle > > > tone everywhere, in the throat, jaw, cheek, lips and then we had to > > > work on oral motor skills. > > > > > > > > We have had to do this with his arms, legs, torso and to stimulate > > > his sense of 'feeling' with deep pressure to get his whole body > > > working properly. The areas that seem to take the longest to get > > > working properly are speech and fine motor skills..... with fine > > > motor being definately the worse of the two for my Mark. It is > > > because there are so many fine, small muscles in the hands and they > > > are responsible for so much work. We also begin remediation of fine > > > motor skills much later than we work on speech. We notice that our > > > child is a late talker by 2.5 or 3 years old and 'see' the problem > > > and then go to work to fix it. Unfortunately we don't really > > > comprehend the magnitude of fine motor issues in dyspraxic childrnen > > > until they are in grade 2 or so. Picture going through life with no > > > hands but having everyone expect you to operate as though you do! > > > That is what it is like to have dyspraxia. Mark calls it > > > being 'trapped' inside of a body that doesn't work. > > > > > > > > At our evaluation this week, Alison wants me to NOT think of Mark > > > as dyspraxic any more and to raise the bar of expectations. She > > > feels his issues are very minor and no longer considers him at risk. > > > Of course, I am not quite there since I 'know' that those hands need > > > more work and his speech is still slightly 'off' especially when > > > speaking to people he doesn't know well. He came up 14 months > > > improvement in maths this term and is just soaring along in his > > > academic abilities! > > > > > > > > So, please take heart..... we CAN beat global dyspraxia...... I > > > will not lie to you..... it is a tremendous amount of work, > > > dedication and commitment but even starting my 'WAR on dyspraxia' at > > > 11 which is darn late (not to say that we didn't do therapy just not > > > to the same level or desparation)...... BUT..... we did it so please > > > those of you with little tykes with global dyspraxia/apraxia who > > > feel frightened and overwhelmed, know in your heart that if an 11 > > > year old can come back and recover, so can your little one~! > > > > > > > > I promise.... > > > > > > > > Janice > > > > Mother of Mark, 13 > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 I am coming in late on this discussion so not really sure what the myomunchee is being used for if it is for oral motor, SID issues, or low tone. Landon at 2yrs had oral hyposensitivity, oral motor problems, and low tone in his cheeks. The OT used the product in the link to help him in this area. It did help because he always wanted something in his mouth so this was very helpful for him to get the oral stimulation he was seeking. I would think this product would also work for low tone. http://www.superduperinc.com/O_Pages/om413_414.htm I also had to massage his cheeks. The SLP used little vibrating toys to wake up his mouth for speech therapy. Here is some information about oral sensitivities and some information that might help for both hypo and hypersensitivities: http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/oral-sensitivities.html Tina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 :-) I thought I was confused when I read that! Thanks for the retraction -- much more substantive, effective, and timely than those provided by the media! LOL Oh, and do keep writing, please! > > Actually, > > I should ammend this post because it is incorrect! Just scrap that whole fourth paragraph about practicing things wrong, okay? It is my own frustration speaking with my older child's ambi-dexterous behaviour that is 'complaining' here and this is not acurate in the least. > > I am re-reading my post and shuddering as I do so! My most sincere apologies my friends.... > > Obviously, if you have a young child who is speaking incorrectly, they need to continue to work it and practice.... So.... just ignore that entire paragraph and one day when we speak of the hands and ambi-behaviour in school-aged children, I'll bring that paragraph back in..... (with vigor)! > > But.... it does NOT apply to speech so..... again...... sorry! > > Maybe I just need to read today and not write..... > > Janice > Mother of Mark, 13 > > > > Re:[ ] Re: Myomunchees? > > > > Mark was in regular speech for 9.5 years and at one point simply stopped improving. We now do mostly oral-motor and it has been what he really needed. We still do some repetition but I prefer to have him read aloud for the variety so that I can keep an eye as to which words and sounds are 'outstanding' in his realm. > > I can tell you this..... without oral motor, we would still have severe articulation and oral/nasal issues. Also, Mark could barely lift his tongue to the roof of his mouth! I believe that every child is different and I KNOW that without oral motor, Mark would still be sounding like a toddler (as he was in July 2008 when we started oral motor speech) rather than the young man he is today. It completely changed everything. I do not believe that most therapists understand dyspraxia..... you need a firm understanding about motor planning issues in order to effectively help our kids. Their mouths do not do what their brains tell them to do. They need to build neural connections to get the body parts working and for that, we need exercises. Exercise the tongue, the throat, the jaw, the lips..... and get them working! Unless the body parts are following the directions from the brain, the child simply CANNOT do what you ask of them. > > PLease, I apologize if I have offended any SLP's who may be reading...... this is just my experience with my own child and as we all know..... every child is unique and an individual. > > What I have found is really counterproductive with our kids is this..... practicing things WRONG! When we practice a word, over and over again without the physical ability to say it correctly, we build improper habit. It is very, very difficult to change the habits of dyspraxic kids once learned! I mean.... close to impossible!!! So, don't ever practice anything 'wrong' because it is 'close-enough' and he'll learn the right thing eventually..... not so for our babies.... the error just gets entrenched into the sensory motor cortex and the child does it wrong FOREVER! This is my personal and most frustrating experience..... trying to undo the damage done is soooooo hard! (really, really, really..... [emphatically] really hard) > > We did a LOT of therapies to work oral motor..... > > Janice > Mother of Mark, 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Thanks everyone for all your replies. I've printed a bunch out to bring with me to see our ST this week. I will post with her comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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