Tongue sucking habit
Hey Sandra, Long time know contact!! How are you? I’m doing quite well here in Columbia, MO. Busy, but good!! Quick (or long) question for you…what do you do with a tongue sucker? I had one in the summer and I’m not sure I was very effective. She was definitely a tongue thruster, so I was treating her for that, thinking that with the increased tongue/oral proprioception would eliminate the need for sucking. Not really sure what happened. They stopped having sessions after like 4 and they were inconsistent….I was thankful that they stopped only because I felt inadequate to treat the tongue sucking. Well, this issue still haunts me. I had a mom of a 6 year old boy call me today. The peds dentist sent them to me and insists that they see me. In fact, they got in trouble at their last appointment because they hadn’t contacted me. Anyway, I feel a little pressure to get this right. The boy only sucks his tongue at night per mom. He had his adenoids out at 3 and sucked a pacifier until 2. He doesn’t suck anything besides his tongue now and does not use a sippy cup. He does have an open bite though. Do you have any experience with this or could you give me any pointers? Thanks for all your help! I missed you in San Diego, I wish I could have gone, would have been fun! -L Dear L, I understand the dilemma about tongue sucking. Yes, usually the regular orof myo approach can and will eliminate tongue sucking, but certainly not always. I would probably do the followling steps with any noxious habits: Awareness: show damage of his own or others’ dentition, etc. I use the video that I have in Unplugging The Thumb kit and merely discuss how the tongue sucking, like the fingers and thumbs of kids on the video, damages the teeth and can affect other areas as well. Self-fulfilling prophesy: I tell him him can quit in X number of days if he wants to, just like the kids on the video Book: I read either of the stories from Unplugging T TH or Growing The Nails so he can see that another boy or girl decided on their own to conquer their habit and has succeeded. I get the child to make the decision to quit and develop a personalized reinforcement program for tongue sucking, still using the chart and stickers or other method of reinforcement for a ten day program. In this case, since the problem is night time, I would immediately maximize prof. #1 in the Myo Manual and then start right in on Quiet Time positioning….then use the autosuggestion tape in the Myo Manual before bed and perhaps one other time during the day when he tends to suck on his tongue. I hope this helps….let me know. Sandra
