Infant Speech Services (Birth - 1)

Breastfeeding is recommended for all babies in the first 2 years of life. Exclusive breastfeeding is defined as baby getting breastmilk from the breast for 100% of his/her nutrition. Breastfeeding should not be painful or difficult for mother or baby. 

Common misconceptions of breastfeeding include:

• it is common for nipples to be sore
• if you want to breastfeed, you need to start right away
• some mothers don't produce enough milk
• teeth signify the end of your breastfeeding journey

Signs an infant/toddler might benefit from support include:

• difficulty latching
• poor supply
• pain for mother
• lipstick shaped nipples
• feeding for short periods of time
• milk leaking
• frequently coming on/off breast

Bottle feeding is is used as a support for many mother's that don't have the time/knowledge about breastfeeding or have encountered issues with breastfeeding leading them to provide supplementation with other forms of nutrition.

Common misconceptions of bottle feeding include:

• all brands have similar flow rates (all slow flow nipples have the same flow)
• rice can be added to bottle to decrease colic symptoms
• bottle feeding causes colic
• bottles can be made on the go with only powder and room temperature water

Signs an infant/toddler might benefit from support include:

• difficulty latching
• milk leaking from mouth
• clicking during feeding
• arching of the back
• short, frequent feedings
• gassiness
• head tilting back while feeding

Frenectomy is a procedure completed when a tongue tie is diagnosed by a trained professional. This procedure is a non-invasive procedure that does require additional stretch, massage, and therapy to be successful long term. Therapy is completed before and after procedure to increase the strength of the tongue, lip, and cheek muscles. Signs a child might benefit from a frenectomy and therapy include:

• difficulty breast feeding
• difficulty bottle feeding
• poor supply
• pain for mother while nursing
• breathing with mouth open during the day and/or night
• difficulty transitioning to solids
• eating small amounts of food often throughout the day
• choking
• gagging
• grinds teeth
• difficulty sleeping, frequent wake-ups

Pediatric Feeding relates to a child's oral intake of nutrition and enjoyment of mealtime itself. When a child has difficulty with swallowing and/or eating a variety of foods, mealtime can be stressful for everyone involved. Signs your child may have a feeding disorder:

• difficult for an infant to suck on a breast/nipple
• lack of nutrition and/or oral intake
• lack of focus during mealtime causing feedings/mealtimes to be longer than 30 minutes
• vomiting in infants or children
• loss of food/liquid coming from the mouth or nose
• refusing certain food types or textures
• only eating certain brands
• coughing or gagging while swallowing
• crying during meal times
• difficulty with the oral stages (insertion of food, chewing, swallowing)
• frequent congestion, especially after meals
• pocketing food and/ or only taking small amount of food at a time
• back arching

Early Communication is important and identifiable from day 1. These demonstrate infant's ability to hear and interact with others as they age. This could be due to limited exposure, cognitive delay, developmental delay, or hearing loss.

Typical Development

Birth - 3 months: cooing, different cries, and smiles at people

4 - 6 months: cooing, babbling, speech-like sounds begin (/m/, /p/, /b/), giggles/laughs, happy or upset sounds

7 - 12 months: babbling, using sounds and gestures to request, says 1-5 words, imitates

Signs an infant might benefit from speech services:

• not reacting to loud noises
• limited interaction with sounds
• not reacting to music or toys with sounds
• not pointing
• not responding to their name
• older infants won't respond to simple phrases (i.e. 'no', 'come here', 'want more?')
• doesn't play games (i.e. peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake)
• older infants may have limited babbling of the following sounds: /m/, /b/, /p/

Oral Motor Development is the function of the lips, jaw, teeth, tongue, and palates (i.e. hard & soft). All of these require exercises and frequent practice to increase strength and improve performance in daily activities. 

Typical Development

Birth - 3 months: moves head in direction of nipple when stimulated around the mouth/cheeks, coordinates breath with 2-3 sucks before swallowing

3 - 6 months (no food should be presented at this age): holds bottle with both hands with assistance, continuation of sucking from bottle and breast, usage of teething items to increase jaw movement

6 - 9 months (food is starting to be introduced): holds bottle independently, takes food off an infant spoon or fork, utilizing hands to put some solid foods into their mouth, chewing can be strengthened with toys or food items, limited food coming out of the mouth during the chewing and swallowing process

9 - 12 months: starting to drink liquids from an open cup independently, straw drinking independently

Signs your infant may benefit from speech services:

• difficulty breast & bottle feeding
• limited intake of solid foods, "picky eater"
• difficulty drinking from straws and cup
• spits out pacifiers
• open mouth breathing posture (during the day & while sleeping)
• difficulty sleeping (i.e. tossing/turning, frequently waking up, baby doesn't appear rested after waking up)