by admin | Apr 1, 2016 | news
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden death of a healthy baby younger than 1 year of age after being put to sleep and its cause is unknown. These deaths have decreased significantly since mothers and fathers are recommended to sleep children on their backs, on a firm surface, and offer exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. Another recommendation currently provided by the American Pediatric Association based on several studies is the use of the pacifier in breastfed (older than one month) and non-breastfed (before one month) babies. The benefits underpinning this recommendation are as follows:
1. The pacifier prevents the baby from turning on its stomach while sleeping and thus prevents suffocation.
2. The baby still doesn't fully control his breathing so if his pacifier falls it's easier for him to wake up and remember to breathe.
3. The pacifier keeps the airway free and modifies the position of the tongue.
As I mentioned in a previous article, the pacifier is perfectly recommended for children under one year of age and for its safe use several recommendations must be taken into account:
Offer it during sleep periods and don't force the baby if he doesn't like it.
Do not put the pacifier into the mouth when the baby is asleep.
Don't put anything sweet on the pacifier.
To offer the pacifier to the breastfed babies until after the first month that is when the lactation is well established.
For formula-fed babies, the recommendation is important before one month because they have other characteristics that may increase the risk of SIDS.
In order to avoid the negative effects of the use of the pacifier it is recommended to limit its use until the year of life.
Be careful with the pacifiers you buy. Not all of them are safe for your baby, for example the one-piece ones are the safest but if necessary consult your pediatrician for advice on the right size (about 4cm) and the best brand for your baby.
The pacifier also has an analgesic effect and stimulates non-nutritive sucking.
In the end, how important it is for parents to know both the risks and benefits of pacifier use and to make an informed decision.
by admin | Feb 28, 2016 | news
I write this article thinking of all those moms who say things like this in the consultation: "to be able to rest I put her to watch TV", "see how well she behaves when she watches TV", "the nanny sleeps it like this, with the TV on" or "the grandmother takes care of it and since she is so tired, they watch a lot of TV". If your child does not yet speak and loves to watch TV, it is very likely that this is a key factor in changing the environment in which it develops. The general recommendation is to try not to expose them to it before the age of two, since it is associated with the appearance of delays in language development and neuronal alterations due to the prolonged exposure of some images and changes in light and colour; but it is also necessary to be realistic. In many of our homes young children are exposed to it for different reasons. This is why instead of totally eliminating it from our lives I recommend turning it into a tool. I explain it with a real-life example: you are tired after a day's work, you decide that you want to rest for a while and sit your child down to see something he likes. While the child is focused, you check his Facebook, answer messages, end the program and get up. This was wasted time for your son because at that time he received information but there was no reciprocity in the communication. If, on the other hand, you share what he or she is seeing and comment on things like: what is Mickey doing? Where did they go? What color is her dress? See what dinosaur is bigger! Does it look big or small to you? And a while later they comment again; at that moment television becomes a learning tool and your child will have taken advantage of the time sharing his world with you and exercising his communication skills. The same principle applies to tablets and cell phones. My recommendation is to use them with measure (less than two hours a day and in short intervals) and always supervise and accompany. If it is impossible for you to accompany your child, it is better to engage in another activity . Remember that the secret is to turn your "enemies" into friends.
by admin | Feb 26, 2016 | news
When my son turned 7 months of age we sensed that he was drooling excessively (sialorrhea). With our previous son we had not experienced any difficulty in this aspect. Many people thought it was normal because of the teething process but did not think it was normal to get so wet. He sensed that more than excess saliva, as many thought, could be a difficulty in swallowing it. As a speech therapist I knew that to help him I had to strengthen his orofacial musculature (tongue, palate veil, cheeks, etc.) since drooling could be the product of hypotonic muscles. Many times moms worried more than they should but I didn't really want to risk any difficulty in the development of their speech and for this reason we implemented two exercises very easy to do at home. 1. I decided to teach him how to drink with a straw. To start you can use a small tetrabrik straw juice (there are many options on the market). How do we get the baby who drinks from a bottle or breast to learn to drink with a straw? Very easy ! Little by little you should press the container until small amounts of juice come out. Your child will quickly learn to suck to get the juice, to swallow and will understand the process. Once the child begins to drink from the container with straw gradually press the straw in order to exert force on his musculature trying to suck the juice. The straw exercise strengthens the tongue, so that it is able to carry the saliva to the back of the mouth to be swallowed . Another very effective technique is the electric toothbrush , obviously appropriate for the size of your small mouth .
The electric toothbrush inside your mouth: cheeks, tongue and gums two or three times a day helps to increase the sensitivity of the mouth and that increase makes the child more aware of his drooling. You can also use an always small vibrator.
The combination of both exercises can be the solution of drooling in your little one ! It worked for me, if you decide to try it at home tell us how it goes ! You can send us videos and photos and thus share your experience with all of us.
Dew
by admin | Feb 8, 2016 | news
We all carry the accent with us. The accent is the pronunciation that those who speak the same language have in common. You can also hear people with foreign accents, people whose native language affects the pronunciation of the new language you want to adopt.
Nowadays, a lot of people move from one country to another, or their work demands that their communication be totally intelligible. The accent often does not allow communication to be as functional as it needs to be. That's why the accent can be modified.
All languages have characteristic sounds and it is by modifying these sounds through pronunciation, tone and rhythm techniques that the effect of accent on speech is reduced and communication skills improved.
Some of the areas in which modification of the accent is important:
- People whose mother tongue is not Spanish
- People who want to reduce a regional or foreign accent in a new country.
- Professionals who have regional or foreign accents and wish to improve their communication skills.
If you want more information ask for our sessions !
by admin | Apr 21, 2014 | news
The sublingual frenulum is a mucous membrane located under the tongue, in the shape of a semilunar and very resistant whose function is to limit the movements of the tongue. If it weren't for this frenulum, we could die swallowing our tongues, that's where its great importance lies. The frenulum is not the same in all cases, it can be flexible or inflexible, soft tissue or fibrous, long or short, visible or invisible and the characteristics of each one have a direct and different influence on the degree of mobility of the tongue. The point of insertion of the frenulum into the tongue can also vary considerably, but there is one thing we must be clear about: a short frenulum can NOT lengthen with growth.
It is important to check the mobility of the tongue in babies as this ability is essential for proper breastfeeding and subsequent physical development. A baby who does not suck properly will not grow or gain the necessary weight. In addition, the language is not only important for the feeding process, but also determines the proper development of the entire oral cavity, so some dysfunction will affect areas such as dentition, speech, breathing and may even determine the propensity to suffer chronic problems such as dental malocclusion, otitis, sinusitis, and so on. In older children there are articulatory problems in some sounds such as /r/, /rr/, /l/, /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/ and /z/. In addition to difficulties in the emotional and social area.
What is frenectomy?
Frenectomy is the surgery that removes the abnormal frenulum. The lingual frenulum is little vascularized and innervated, so if it is necessary to cut it offers little resistance, barely bleeds and does not hurt. However, on all occasions when a person has a short lingual frenulum, frenectomy is recommended. If the patient has adequate mobility, he or she will be able to articulate all the sounds of speech. There is an evaluation protocol that the speech therapy professional will apply to the patient and the patient will recommend whether or not it is necessary, as well as the intervention plan to follow. Remember to consult a professional if you have any questions.
