My Kind of Therapy

We are constantly trying to strengthen Ty's mouth muscles to improve his speech. His speech therapist always gives us lots of suggestions of things to do at home. One of Ty's favorite homework assignments is food therapy. Thick milkshakes and smoothies sucked through a straw tops the list, though he doesn't mind chewing taffy or licorice either. So after therapy each week we stop to get a treat that tastes yummy and gives his mouth a workout.
Today Ty had his first session of occupational therapy. This therapist will work on Ty's fine motor skills (holding a crayon, cutting, etc...) as well as sensory issues. Ty often crashes into things,gives really fierce hugs or over stuffs his mouth while eating. He does things to the extreme because his body doesn't recognize the sensation as easily as most of us and he needs more input to register what is happening. This explains why I have always thought he had a really high pain tolerance.

We're so excited to have this therapist, just disappointed the state wouldn't approve Ty for this therapy sooner. The clock is ticking and once Ty turns 3 we lose all of our therapists. Once that happens we will only have the schools as a resource unless we pay for private services out of pocket. So here's to making the most out of the next 3 months!