Tag Archives: feeding

ezpz Mini Feeding Set

Facilitation of Feeding Skill Development

Feeding specialists must select appropriate tools when facilitating feeding skill development. There are a myriad of materials available that make it challenging for therapists to select the tools that match the needs of their pediatric clients. Therapro is always in quest of useful, practical, and therapeutic oral-motor and feeding tools that will promote feeding skill development. Innovative designs are widely available to therapists and families for utensils, cups, and oral tools that are conceived to help advance oral development and feeding skills. We’ve reviewed extensively what is available to therapists and families, and are able to offer these new items from ezpz with our stamp of approval. All materials used are safe and a breeze to clean.

ezpz Oral Development Tools used for Facilitating early Feeding Skill Development

Oral Development: Oral Development Tools are designed to provide oral sensorimotor input for babies and youngsters who are beginning to explore their mouths. The 3 tools (loop, smile, and stick) are easy to grasp and provide smooth and textured surfaces. They can be used without food to explore oral movement for pre-speech activities, provide oral sensation, and can also be dipped in liquids and graded food textures to facilitate oral motor skills of the lips, tongue, jaw, and cheeks. The Oral Development Tools are a great tool for facilitating early feeding skill development.

The ezpz Developmental Utensil Set

Utensils: The Developmental Utensil Set consists of utensils for infants age 4 months+ called Tiny Spoons; Mini Utensils (fork and spoon) for infants age 12 months; and Happy Utensils (fork, spoon, and knife) for children 2 years+. The entire set consists of 7 utensils that can be used as the child’s feeding skills develop.  The Happy Utensils are available as a separate set that encourage safe and successful self feeding. These utensils are a great tool for facilitating the development of scooping, piercing, spreading and cutting needed for successful self feeding.

Developmental Cup Set

Cups: The Developmental Cup Set is a developmental training system for teaching cup and straw drinking skills. It introduces open cup drinking for infants 4 months+ using a Tiny Cup (2 oz). The Mini Cup and Straw Training System is the next level with a 4 oz cup, screw on lid and flexible, durable straw for infants 9 months+. For the older toddler (2 years+), the Happy Cup and Straw System consists of an 8 oz cup with screw on lid and flexible, durable straw. The system promotes oral skills including lip closure, lip rounding, tongue cupping and elevation. All 3 of the cups are available individually as well as in the set.

These ezpz tools are a great resource for facilitating feeding skill development. You will be able to examine and try out these new products and many more when you visit Therapro’s exhibit at the ASHA Conference in Boston on November 16-18. We’ll see you then!

Guest Blogger: Filomena Connor, MSOTR, Retired

better hearing and speech month banner

Celebrating Therapro’s Speech Language Pathology Authors & Creators

Therapro is celebrating its speech language pathology authors and creators during Better Hearing and Speech Month 2023. Read on to learn more about these great speech language pathologists and their creations!

Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum

Deborah Fortin, MSPA,CCC-Speech is the author of Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum.   Deborah’s knowledge for this particular skill area derived from her many years working in an integrated preschool program. Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum is a unique program that can be used to present highly interactive lessons to preschoolers. It was designed to be a collaborative approach between SLPs and classroom educators in order to encourage follow-up and carryover for incidental teaching all day long.



Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment

Kelly VanDahm, MS, CCC-SLP is the editor of the book Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment. Kelly has been a practicing speech-language pathologist for many years, serving patients of all ages. She has also authored articles, book chapters, learning modules, and textbooks. Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment brings together 14 leading clinicians, the latest research, and interdisciplinary perspectives on pediatric feeding disorders.

Red Sensory Spoon

Mary Schiavoni, MS, CCC-SLP worked with Therapro’s Karen Conrad Weihrauch and Filomena Connor to create the Sensory Spoon. Mary Schiavoni is the creator of Chewy Tubes, a noted author and Pediatric Feeding Specialist. The Sensory Spoon is a unique tool that focuses on the development of self-feeding with infants as young as 7 months old. Its unique characteristics include a short, textured handle that offers sensory input to the palm for grasping, a natural “stop” that prevents gagging or deep insertion into the mouth, and a flexible, smooth texture.

Therapro is proud to support and promote the work of the many great professionals involved in the diagnosing and treatment of communication disorders, including speech language pathologist and audiologists.  We wish you all a very happy Better Hearing and Speech Month!