Caroline Martin is an amazing supervisor!! She is so knowledgable and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we have already learned so much from her with pediatric feeding/swallowing. The majority of our dysphagia therapy so far consists mainly of Beckman Oral Motor Exercises and stretches. We started out by singing to the babies to get them accustomed to the environment and us. One thing that is really important with feeding/swallowing is working the babies up to where they can tolerate the sensitivity to touch, the stretches, Z-Vibe, etc. We tend to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and work our way from their tiny little hands by using finger puppets and light touch to up their arms and to their cheeks and lips. Once we get the baby comfortable, we then begin the stretches (labial, buccal, and C-Stretches that Brittany explained in her post). After the stretches, we then use a Nuk brush by rubbing it on the inside and outside of their cheeks, on their lips, and gently on their tongue. We then do Z-vibe on their cheeks and some babies need more sensory input from the Z-vibe that we will hold it to their chests. Once we complete the stretches and sensory integration strategies, we begin to work on their gross motor skills by helping them sit and giving then a significant amount of tummy time. The babies learn how to sit and keep head control during tummy time by practice.
We got to experience our first African food today, nshima. We participated in the true African ritual where everyone lines up and passes the bar of soap and they pour water over your hands to clean them. It was neat!
It is hard to explain the way we all feel about these babies already to you guys because y'all are getting a different experience in clinic. We finally got to take pictures of the babies today and I will post a few below. We are enjoying this journey and we hope that you all are enjoying yours just as much. Miss you guys!
I thouroughly enjoyed putting faces with those sweet babies you all have been mentioning. They're precious! The swallowing stimulation sounds so interesting... I hope we get an opportunity to do that here in the states with the little ones, too. I'm sure you're each getting so much fullfillment from seeing the babies make progress right before your eyes. Continuing to pray!
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see some pictures of those sweet babies. It sounds like you all are learning some excellent techniques to situmulate swallowing! I can't wait to learn about the different oral motor exercises and stretches that you all have been using. Sounds like everything is going very well! Praying for you all and the babies!
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that you sing with the babies before working with them to get them "warmed up" to you. Is that something that they are familiar with in their culture from their mothers and aunties, or is that something that speaks cross-culturally as calming and reassuring?
ReplyDeleteJust read Dr. Weaver's post on Facebook and what terrible news. Praying for the family and you all as you deal with that loss! I am loving getting to see these sweet faces(and oh my goodness those eyes!!!!!!)Yes our client's are different than yours,but being in a position to help still feels the same. My case load got a little more interesting today with a fresh CVA and a 6 day post craniotomy.
ReplyDeleteHi ya'll. Several of the patients we were seeing this past week are being discharged. It's sad to see some of them go already, but their insurance has just about covered their stay from what I understand. Although I haven't seen many of them when they first started, they've made major improvements from their baselines. Facial weakness and symmetry has improved in several of them (we've been doing oral facial stretches for that)-they went from very droopy to MUCH better! Several of their dysphagia diets have been updated from mechanical soft or thickened liquids to regular solids and liquids!!! Which is amazing! Several cognitively involved patients have also improved. It's been refreshing to see their progress.
ReplyDeleteBTW the babies are adorable.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your posts, but I have to admit that the pictures of the cute babies are my favorite part of this blog :) ... At my off-site we are seeing a patient that had head/neck cancer and had a significant amount of tissue removed from her face and neck. We are using some of the same stretches (labio/buccal/facial) to help her build strength in her oral musculature. That is one thing I love about our field: we can be on completely different continents seeing completely different clients but our knowledge is still applicable and relevant!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Love these pictures, especially that cutie who looks like you might have interrupted his morning routine with a flash! Thank you thank you for posting the "process" more or less of sensory input for these babies. I look forward to this coming Wednesday when I might put some of these into practice! My supervisor is trying to language with her right now, which she needs since she is 2 and nonverbal, but I think her hypotonicity and obvious sensory needs also need attention during therapy. Thankfully, my supervisor has ordered Vivienne her very own Z-vibe, and will teach Mom how to use it once it comes in! I am loving this blog idea, wish I had started reading sooner!!!
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