Teaching her to use her tongue correctly

So, we know that Hannah “doesn’t know how” to use her tongue when she eats.  I really paid attention to it today when I was feeding her, both with the bottle and attempting baby food.  I can’t tell anything with the bottle except for that she sucks really hard without much effort.  When I was feeding her with the spoon, she acts like I am torturing her and refuses to open her mouth.  If I put some in while she is crying with her mouth open, she spits it all out.  I felt so bad that I only tried this for about one minute today because I feel like I’m torturing her now that I know she doesn’t know what to do.

I asked Dr. Schiffmann, Hannah’s neurologist, about this development.  Apparently it is common for Gaucher’s kids to have this problem.  It is neurological, but as he put it, it is something that can be learned. 

During Hannah’s IFSP (individualized family service plan) with Early Childhood Intervion today (more on that tomorrow when I have the sheet in front of me), we decided to add speech therapy to the mix of therapies for Hannah.  Not only will they help her to use her tongue with feeding issues, it may also help her with her communication skills (one area which she scored lower than average).