Drooling

Drooling is most common in children who suffer from disabilities that impair the nerves or muscles in their throats and mouths. Some examples include Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, head injury, hypotonia, mental retardation, Muscular Dystrophy, seizures, stroke, and/or enlarged tonsils. Many sudden onset illnesses also can cause drooling, so a physician should always be consulted to determine the cause. They may suggest treatments like speech therapy, occupational therapy, biofeedback, medication and/or even surgery.

Drooling or dribbling – the unintentional loss of saliva from the mouth – can affect both children and adults with special needs. There may be a number of causes, including:

· Abnormalities in swallowing

· A reaction to medications which cause an increase in saliva

· Difficulty moving saliva to the back of the throat

· Tongue thrusting

· Jaw instability

· Inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth



Poor Sensory Awareness

Many children lack sensory awareness in their facial muscles and don’t get the feedback that most of us do that saliva is near our mouths.

Four ways to increase sensory awareness in the mouth:

1. balm (containing only edible ingredients) to increase awareness.

2. Rub a variety of textured cloths around the child’s mouth.

3. Add sour and spicy foods like lemonade or salsa and cold foods such as frozen fruit or popsicles to the child’s diet to “wake up” the mouth.

4. Use a vibration tooth brush or an infant vibration teether to stimulate the child’s mouth.

Sometimes children just need a gentle reminder of the issue. Help them become aware of their drooling by deciding on a code word that alerts them to close their mouth.

Oral Motor Weakness

Weakness in the lips and the muscles that surround the mouth can also make it difficult for a child to keep their mouth closed, which leads to drooling.

Three ways increase lip and mouth muscle strength:

1. Have your child hold a tongue depressor between their lips (without using their teeth) during times when they are concentrating on something, like drawing or story time.

2. Encourage your child to drink out of a straw (without biting on it) or drink out of an open cup.

3. Introduce simple oral motor exercises like blowing bubbles and horns, or play a game by blowing cotton balls across a table.

children with special needs may need a little help developing the coordination, awareness, and lip strength/flexibility in order to stop or reduce drooling and I have come across some activities which may help do just that.

First, gather some things you will need:

· ➢ Straws

· ➢ Cotton balls

· ➢ Whistles, horns, kazoos

· ➢ Lollipops

· ➢ Chewy, sour tasting candy**

· ➢ Peanut butter**

· ➢ Bubble fluid

· ➢ Dental floss and life saver shaped candy

· ➢ Most of all PATIENCE!



1. STRAWS require a child to use lower lip control and develop the facial muscles required to stop drooling. When appropriate, allow the child to drink from a straw, rather than a Sippy cup which can make drooling worse. Make it a fun challenge, like putting pudding or apple sauce in a cup with a straw. Milk shakes work great too. If your child needs help learning to use a straw, try using a juice box. Put the straw in your child’s mouth and squeeze enough to give them a taste of what’s inside.

2. WHISTLES, HORNS, and KAZOOS are another way for your child to practice the lip control they need to stop drooling. It may not be music to your ears, but the result, a dry child, will make it worthwhile. Some earphones might not be a bad investment for your ears either.

3. Blow! COTTON BALL races are a great way to help stop drooling and have fun at the same time. Place a cotton ball for each racer on a smooth, flat surface. On your mark! Get set! BLOW!!! It’s a great lip exercise disguised as fun.

4. BLOWING BUBBLES is another great way to help stop drooling. Again, by practicing lip control, children develop the strength, lip range of motion, and skill required to help with the problem of drooling.

5. For children without peanut allergies, PEANUT BUTTER can be a great tool. Wipe your child’s lower lip free of drool, and smear a LITTLE (not enough to choke on) peanut butter on your child’s lower lip. The child then licks the peanut butter off the lower lip. As they lift their lip to get all the peanut butter, they will be performing strengthening and range of motion exercises.

6. Sucking on a LOLLIPOP promotes active lip stretching and lip closure which may reduce drooling.

7. Chewing is a great activity for those children without swallowing difficulties to increase awareness within the mouth. Add sour flavors for the added POW! Sour flavoring has also been shown to increase the frequency of swallowing as well.

8. Lace a LIFE SAVER TYPE candy with DENTAL FLOSS. While you hold both ends, place the candy inside the child’s mouth and play “tug-o-war”. Instruct the child to close their lips to keep from losing the piece of candy.


Some more tips which can work in case of Drooling :

Waterproof pillow cases can be put underneath the children’s nice cases – still have to wash them all the time, but it saves their pillows.
Pineapple juice Drinking pineapple juice is reported to reduce the amount of saliva produced, which can be helpful to people who have difficulties in coping with their oral secretions.
Use a straw Encourage the use of a straw for drinking to strengthen the muscles of the lips, mouth and throat. An upright head position and straight posture is best as stooping encourages drooling
Swallow first gently remind the kid to swallow before talking by pretending to be be a frog and doing a big gulp.
Nasal breathing It has been found that children drool less at night if nasal strips are used. Breathing through nose, not mouth really helps
Encourage swallowing gently massage on cheeks using a forefinger in a circular motion. This encourages to swallow
Make your own bib/face wipe by sewing elastic onto a face cloth or – if you want it bigger – use a hand towel. You can pull it forward easily to wipe the person’s mouth, without pulling on their neck. You can also attach to a tennis sweat band to put it on their wrist for them to wipe their own mouth.
Techie tips

You can order a Logitech Washable Keyboard K310.It’s a washable keyboard that is easy to clean and easy to dry because it’s submergible in up to 30 cm (12 inches) of water and has convenient drainage holes at the back. You can also use a Griffin Defender case for iPad it is the most drool resistant.