Amazing Progress! Blowing Exercises for Autism 👦🏽🫧 | Pediatric Oral Motor PT #7

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. Children often make meaningful progress when practice is structured, supportive, and shared with someone they trust. For children who have difficulty with imitation or motor planning, learning alongside a parent can make challenging skills more accessible and motivating. 💙 👩🏽‍👦🏽 Meet Palaash and His Mom, Nemu In this video, you’ll see Palaash, a 12-year-old with autism, working with his mom, Nemu. Palaash communicates primarily by typing on a QWERTY communication device and is not yet able to speak verbally. His parents actively support his development, and he participates in speech therapy, physical therapy, and therapeutic swim lessons. I previously worked with Palaash as his physical therapist, and it has been a privilege to continue supporting his progress over time. 🌱 🟥 What You’ll See in This Video This is Video #7 in Palaash’s series and focuses on developing the ability to blow — an oral motor skill that requires coordination of the lips, cheeks, and breath control. In this session, we practice blowing using several simple tools: ✔🏽 Blowing into a toy flute ✔🏽 Blowing a siren whistle that requires stronger airflow ✔🏽 Blowing bubbles using a wand These activities come from the Webber Oral Motor Photo Cards and help build lip closure, cheek stability, and controlled airflow. You’ll also hear Nemu describe the process that helped Palaash learn this skill. When blowing was first introduced, he often blew through his nose instead of his mouth. His parents used creative strategies such as a swimmer’s nose clip and gentle abdominal cueing to help him understand how to direct air through his lips. At the beginning, only a small amount of air would come out. With daily practice and repetition, he has developed the ability to blow strongly enough to activate the flute, whistle, and bubbles. This video highlights an important principle in motor learning: consistent practice over time can produce meaningful change, even when early progress seems very small. 🪞💪🏾 For Parents and Therapists If you’re supporting a child who is autistic, nonverbal, or working on oral-motor awareness and breath control, this video offers practical ideas for: • Teaching the concept of blowing • Encouraging lip closure and airflow control • Using motivating toys for practice • Building strength and coordination gradually • Supporting practice with consistent daily repetition 🔍 About the Oral Motor Cards I am not affiliated with Super Duper and receive no financial incentive if you click the link below. I’m sharing this resource because I used it regularly in clinical practice. 🔗 Webber Photo Oral Motor Cards https://www.superduperinc.com/webber-oralmotor-photo-cards.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqEjJtIWYTYlXkBlwZ3joZVO19q6fJQl8dmKO-CyrniYLxIbaPE 🎥 Watch Palaash’s Full Video Series 👉🏽 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjPwLKSTp9mZBxo0RujvdTYO 🌈🌐 Stay Connected 🌐 Website: www.pediatricPTexercises.com 📘 Facebook: Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises 📧 Email: amysturkey@gmail.com Please note: I cannot provide treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated. 📚 Children’s Educational Books 📘 P is for Poop and Pee Accidents https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 📘 A is for Anxiety https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V 📘 A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR 📘 C is for Cerebral Palsy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP 📘 D is for Down Syndrome https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 📘 A is for Autism https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB 📘 Professional Books for Pediatric Therapists 📗 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 📗 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 📗 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD 🌍 Captions & Accessibility ▶️ To turn on captions: Click CC 🌐 To change caption language: Settings → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate