Top 10 Lessons I Learned from Loving Kids with Autism

Autism

Top 10 Lessons I Learned from Loving Kids with Autism

By Melanie Potock

If you’ve had the good fortune of loving kids with autism, you’ve probably encountered a few unexpected lessons in life. In honor of National Autism Awareness Month and to express my gratitude for what my friends with autism spectrum disorder have taught me, I’d like to share my Top 10.

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May 6

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Spouted Sippy Cups! The no-spill feature is so tempting for parents! The sucking (like on a bottle or a thumb) is so hard to resist for kids!💕 Try your best to skip the spouted sippy cups (or limit them to RARELY using them). Here’s why:

😛Babies gradually learn to lift up their tongue tip to swallow by about the first birthday. But if spouts hold down the tongue, they don’t get the practice I think they need. It’s also just one of the reasons we start bottle weaning when baby starts solids so they are off the bottle right after their first birthday. 🍼

🥤What to use instead? Comment #bestcups for a link to my Amazon shop (#affiliatelink) to see my tested and best options. BTW, If were a businesswoman who didn’t care about your child’s mouth development, I’d LOAD that Amazon store with spouted sippy cups because they’re so darn convenient & marketed by baby companies as the next step in learning to use a cup (um, no!) but I can’t sell what I don’t believe in…even if we promise to use them only occasionally.

👉🏼When it comes to how your child’s palate and face forms in the early years, there are many factors to consider – but they always come down to 1) frequency of use 2) duration or how long it’s used and 3) intensity or pressure on the structures. Can we measure that with every influential factor? It’s unlikely – but we can consider the advice of top professionals who SPECIALIZE in mouth development:

✨”Sucking on a rigid piece of plastic … can actually misshape the oral cavity and result in problems later in life like speech, airway, sleep quality, and facial form and aesthetics.” - Mark Burhenne, DDS

✨”Many if not most of these “no-spill” cups are just bottles in disguise” American Dental Association

✨”Many experts suggest that orofacial myofunctional disorders may develop as a result from…extended use of a pacifier and/or long-term use of sippy cups” -International Association of Orofacial Myology

❓❓Questions? Ask away!
❤️Melanie

*note - kids with medical issues related to aspiration may need spouted sippy cups #melaniepotock

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May 5

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@parents asked me to share Tips on Safety When Using Bottle Warmers, so I’m sharing them here with you too!🍼

💕Love me a good bottle warmer, how about you? 👉🏼Did you use a bottle warmer with your baby?

😊Many thanks to Cameron LeBlanc for asking me to contribute to his article for Parents: https://www.parents.com/baby/care/newborn/best-baby-bottle-warmers/

🥰Melanie
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May 2

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Crushing it. #feedingtoddlers #melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #reallife ...

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