Oral Motor Skills and Feeding

Your child’s ability to move their cheeks, lips, and tongue affect how they eat, drink, and swallow foods and liquids.

OT can help you promote your child’s oral motor skills by addressing:

  • positioning

  • types of bottle, cup, spoon used

  • exercises to promote skills

  • modifying liquids / diet

  • reflex integration

Breastfeeding


Oral reflexes


Drinking from a bottle or cup

 

Sticking tongue out

Licking food


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Biting

Chewing


Oral exploration / play

 

Closing lips on food, cup or spoon


Mealtime routines