IN THIS ISSUE: All About Audrey - Spotlight on a Little Light House student Introducing the All New Little Light House Cookbook A Message From Marcia: our Little Light House Cookbook What’s Cooking in the Classrooms Prepare for Book Fair - Details on the upcoming event Sterling Is a Champion Cherrio Chewer - Speech-language success at TLLH Garden Party 2010: Thank You For A Successful Event! IN THE CLASSROOM: The Bookworm - Assistive technology makes a difference The Beacon is the official newsletter of The Little Light House, distributed bi-monthly. To receive The Beacon by e-mail, send a note to Dana Day. Sponsors The print version of The Beacon is made possible by the time and resources of the following volunteers (with the exception of some postage & envelope expenses). Please call 664.6746 today to see how you can help!

When Sterling started at The Little Light House at three years of age, he was eating soft, mashable foods or puree. For a period of time early in life, he received his nutrition through a gastrointestinal tube. He was successfully weaned from that but needed support in learning to tolerate food in his mouth. This can be typical for a child who hasn’t always eaten by mouth.

Sterling craves sensory input in his mouth. He often gets this by chewing on a chew tube just as we chew on gum. When it comes to food, however, it can be difficult to allow in new textures, tastes, and temperatures.

To start the acceptance process, we slowly encouraged new textures by providing a food he liked (pudding) and added a new texture such as crunchy Cheerios. We also played games at meal time where the unwanted food was placed first on his hand, then moved up his arm, landed on his cheek and finally rested in his mouth.

Sterling first gagged at even the sight of a crunchy solid on his plate. He now accepts many varieties and combinations of tastes, textures and temperatures. Sterling continues to work hard to chew those crunchy textures with his teeth but certainly enjoys eating. Good work, Sterling!