As you know, I'm going through a therapy bag dilemma right now. To bring a bag of tricks or to not bring a bag of tricks with me on my early intervention home visits? I think the answer is probably to bring a few things, but not EVERYTHING. But that's another post for another day. Today I'm kicking off a new series, In My Therapy Bag, where OTs, PTs, and SLPs will all stop by to share must-have items in their therapy bags. I'm going to start it off by sharing an item that I have in my (very small) therapy bag.
So what is one item that I have in my therapy bag?
Straws!!
Why do I carry straws in my therapy bag?
Since I'm working primarily in early intervention, I use straws all of the time because I believe straw drinking is such an important skill for kiddos to have. Drinking from a straw helps develop the muscles of the mouth and cheeks, preparing kids for chewing and eating. Since so many of the kids I work with have difficulty with chewing, straw drinking is an easy way to introduce daily "exercise" to their mouths and cheeks.
For more information on the benefits of straw drinking and tips on how to teach your child to drink from a straw, I recommend you check out Alisha's post over on Your Kid's Table.
On another note, straws can also be used as a great tool to help provide organizing sensory input. For more information on using straws for sensory regulation, as well as some great activities, check out these posts:
- Straw soccer and Sensory-Motor "Awesomeness" with Glitter from Embrace Your Chaos
- Huff and Puff Spelling from The OT's Bag
- Penguin Fish Feed from Miss Mancy
Have an item in your therapy bag that you'd like to share? I'd love for you to share it in an upcoming post! Just send me an email, AbbyPediatricOT {at} gmail {dot} com for more information. Open to all therapists! You don't have to be a blogger to participate!
love your blog!
ReplyDeletethanks for the info!