Help with low muscle tone of mouth, awaiting OT Eval in July, 2012

by Maureen
(USA)

My son, Trevor, age 3, has been in speech therapy for a few months now and was diagnosed with a severe articulation disorder and a severe language delay. At his last session, a more senior speech therapist sat in, and after observing Trevor she highly recommended an OT evaluation (we took their next appointment, which is in July). They were concerned that Trevor never sits still, uses his palms more than his fingers, and he drools.

After researching these symptoms, I think he might have a sensory processing disorder. Other symptoms that he had are trouble nursing (I was told he was a "lazy sucker"), never held his own bottle, skipped over crawling. My main concern is (what I assume is) low muscle tone around his mouth—that could explain the drooling as well as his difficulty in moving his mouth to make different sounds. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for how I can work with Trevor until he is evaluated by the OT.

It also concerns me that he still cannot do the hand motions for “wheels go round and round”. I have found a lot of helpful information on this website but not much for helping with the mouth. I do not know of anyone who has been through something similar so any thoughts you have are appreciated! Thanks so much.
Maureen