Mouth play I
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The child learns through their mouth first. The mouth sensation develops even before their birth. Around 5 months in utero or womb the child brings the hands to mouth and sucks the hands. This is the first exposure of mouthing. After birth the child first exposure to mouthing is mother feeding. During feed the child does not even get touch sensation inside mouth but also around the mouth. This is favoured by rooting reflex which is a primitive reflex. According to Freud's psycho-sexual theory of development, the oral stage is a primary focus of libidal energy or libido. At the age of 3 months the child start bringing his hands in midline and starts mouthing. This way the child preoccupies with the pleasure of mouthing. Oral stage prepares the child for better oral functioning. It prepares the child for sucking, chewing and swallowing and later for speech.
Mouthing the toys and other objects helps the child to learn jaw control, chewing, tongue movement and speech. During this process the child learns to use different part and angles of the mouth. This prepares the child for transition of food from liquids to solids.
This is a normal process and most of the children undergo to this process by their own but it is not automatic process for children with special needs. They need assistance to learn it through guidance with early interventionist or occupational therapist.
Posted byNeeti at 10:43 PM
Labels: autism, cerebral palsy, child disability, Down's syndrome, early intervention, occupational therapy, oral issues, parenting tips, play, primitive reflexes, sensory integration, speech therapy
dis is FREUD psycholgy staging as ORAL stage....gr8 work to publish it here..woow
Its not informtive at all...it only talks abt how the dev happens with the normal child but has no tips or idea to work around for a child with dev issues...how does it help us??
I just ignore seeing the child mouthing toys, but it shows how the child learns to use her jaws in different angles of the mouth. Great post!