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Sensory Oral Motor Products for Down Syndrome

Question:  I recently had a child who has Down syndrome, and I would like to know which tools are necessary for my child so I can support him as early as possible.  Could you recommend which products would be best?

Congratulations on your new baby boy!  That's a great question.  Below is a list of all of the products we'd recommend:

1 proMini
1 proPreefer
1 Baby Guitar
1 pack of Small Flexi Cups
1 Z-Vibe Book
1 Z-Vibe Travel Kit (customized with 1 Probe Tip, 1 Mini Tip, 1 Soft Brush Tip, 1 Textured Bite-n-Chew Tip XL, and 1 Hard Textured Spoon Tip)
1 Mouse Tip
1 Bear Bottle
1 Lip Blok 3 Size Kit
1 Textured Grabber (Soft)
1 Y-Chew (XT)

Those oral motor items will take you from infant age and up through adulthood.  If budget is a concern, the main products that you'll need for the first 12 months are the proMini, Z-Vibe, Baby Guitar, and Bear Bottle.

For more information on when to use each product, click here.  And for another related article and a must-read, click here.

For older kids and adults, the basics would be 1 Z-Vibe, 1 Lip Blok 3 Size, and 1 Y-Chew.

  • ARK's Oral Motor proPreefer

    ARK Oral Motor proPreefer™

    $10.99
    A cylindrical design for "rolling" sensory input and tactile stimulation|||ARK's Oral Motor proPreefer™ is similar to our favorite Probe. The design was requested by many therapists who liked ARK's Probe, but wanted a round end instead for a...

    4 Reviews

  • ARK's Oral Motor proMini

    ARK Oral Motor proMini™

    $10.99
    For gentle gum massage and sensory stimulation for babies & toddlers|||Designed for those smaller mouths, ARK's Oral Motor proMini™ is a smaller version of our favorite Probe. It has a rectangular tip that is bumpy on one side, striated on the...

    4 Reviews

  • ARK's Textured Grabber® Sensory Oral Motor Chew

    ARK Textured Grabber® Sensory Chew

    $10.49
    P shaped chew tool with added bumps for extra sensory input|||ARK's Textured Grabber® is an oral motor chew tool with 3 different surfaces to chew on: one smooth, one with circular bumps, and one with rectangular bumps.  As a chew tool,...

    107 Reviews

  • ARK's Y-Chew® Oral Motor Chew

    ARK Y-Chew® Oral Motor Chew

    $10.49
    3 extensions to chew on, each with a different texture|||ARK's Y-Chew® is an oral motor chew tool with 3 extensions to chew on.  Each "arm" of the Y shape features a different texture: one smooth, one ribbed, and one with gentle bumps for a...

    105 Reviews

  • ARK's Baby Guitar

    ARK Baby Guitar

    $10.49
    A chew tool with a textured stem; Click to see all 5 colors|||ARK's Baby Guitar is designed to help parents and therapists assist babies in the early stages of oral development.  Use it to encourage sensory exploration and biting and...

    6 Reviews

  • Tips & Techniques for the Z-Vibe® Book

    Tips & Techniques for the Z-Vibe® (Book)

    $21.99
    Available in English, Spanish, or French|||Written by Debra Lowsky, MS, CCC-SLP, the speech-language pathologist who invented the Z-Vibe®, this book is an extensive reference guide explaining how, when, and where to use...

    13 Reviews

  • ARK's Z-Vibe® Travel Kit

    ARK Z-Vibe® Travel Kit

    $79.50 $62.99
    The original and most popular Z-Vibe kit with a set of 6 versatile, go-to tips|||ARK's Travel Kit is the original and most popular Z-Vibe kit.  Each kit includes: 1 Z-Vibe® handle with Probe Tip1 Preefer Tip1 Bite-n-Chew Tip...

    43 Reviews

  • ARK's Mouse Tip

    ARK Mouse Tip for the Z-Vibe®

    $9.99
    A friendly feeding & sensory oral motor staple; Use the ears as spoons!|||ARK's Mouse Tip for the Z-Vibe® is the ultimate tool for sensory oral motor therapy, particularly for children in early intervention.  His friendly "Mickey...

    7 Reviews

  • ARK's Bear Bottle Kit for Straw Drinking

    ARK Bear Bottle Kit to Teach Straw Drinking

    $15.99
    Make drinking easier for beginners or those with oral motor difficulties|||ARK's Bear Bottle Kit is a fun and friendly way to make drinking easier for beginners and/or children with oral motor difficulties. It's also an excellent way to transition babies...

    82 Reviews

  • ARK Lip Blok® Oral Motor Tool for Straw Drinking

    ARK Lip Blok® Oral Motor Tool for Straw Drinking

    $7.25
    Simple, effective tools to help improve oral motor skills||| Do you have a patient, or loved one who is biting on straws or putting them too far into his/her mouth?  Or do you need to work on oral motor skills like lip closure, tongue retraction,...

    28 Reviews