Learning with Little Hands

  Eating and Feeding Techniques - Summary Oral Motor Competency Feeding requires precise coordination of lips, jaw, tongue, and swallowing. Problems may appear as difficulty achieving normal movements, persistence of primitive reflexes, or abnormal patterns. Reflexes such as rooting, biting, and suck–swallow usually integrate in infancy but can persist and interfere with mature eating skills. Abnormal responses like tongue thrust, tonic bite, tactile defensiveness, and hypersensitive gag also disrupt feeding.   How Swallowing Works Animation Video - Stages of Swallowing Process - Swalllow Anatomy & Physiology AniMed https://youtu.be/eLvfzyZNnVw?si=44vABMnfJnwaw_E9 Strategies include careful use of coated spoons, avoiding gum or teeth contact, and therapeutic programs from occupational or speech therapists to reduce reflexes and promote voluntary control. Individualized approaches are essential for safety and independence. Positive Practice Developing matur...

Feeding Routes When food is eaten, it passes through a series of protective mechanisms before reaching the stomach. The soft palate blocks the nasal cavity, folds in the pharynx prevent large food from passing, and the epiglottis closes the airway. Food then moves into the esophagus, traveling by peristalsis into the stomach where it mixes with gastric juices. From there, it enters the small intestine—duodenum, jejunum, and ileum—where nutrients are absorbed. Remaining waste moves into the large intestine. Tube feeding bypasses or supplements this normal process when a student cannot eat safely or efficiently by mouth. Most Common Forms of Tube Feeding The nasogastric (NG) tube is inserted through the nose into the stomach and is commonly used for short-term feeding.   For longer-term feeding, a gastrostomy tube (G-tube) is surgically placed directly into the stomach through the abdominal wall. Another option is the gastrostomy button, a small skin-level dev...

  Blog 4: Instructional Strategies Key Points: Teaching students requires scaffolding supports that fade over time: Antecedent Prompts Antecedent prompts are supports given before a task to help students notice natural cues in their environment.  They guide attention and prepare the student to respond correctly. Examples include placing a colored sticker on a faucet to remind a student where to wash hands, modeling a behavior for the student to copy, or moving materials closer to the student to highlight the next step.  These prompts are meant to build connections between real-world cues and the desired response.  However, prompts must be carefully faded over time. If they are not reduced, students may become dependent and fail to generalize skills to new settings.  For Education Assistants (EAs), this means starting with more support if needed but always planning to reduce it gradually.  The ultimate goal is for students to respond to natural cues ...