Sassy Grow Up Cup

 

Hailey has a new cup and I’m so excited!

Something most of us take for granted every single day is the ability to use our tongue, the ability to chew and eat our food, and the ability to drink from a cup. This is something that has always been very challenging for Hailey and for most people who have Cerebral Palsy. C.P. is a mobility impairment that affects the gross and fine motor skills, your tongue uses fine motor skills while eating and drinking, so you may imagine how it can be difficult for her to control her tongue. The ability to suck, swallow and chew is also compromised as well as the ability to speak. There is a famous myth that the tongue is the body’s strongest muscle...it’s not true, but it doesn’t make the tongue any less impressive, or less important. This is the way Hailey initially got her water...

Then her sucking got a little better and she was able to drink from this cup...It is the "Platex Lil Gripper" because Hailey also has trouble holding onto things the handles were key here and also the straw to help her with her sucking motion, the straw was also made of very hard plastic which was important so that it didn't constantly collapse like other flimsy straws. She used this cup for a long time. The problem was when Hailey tried drinking from this cup, often times she couldn't seem to concentrate on tipping her head back, so her head was always in the downward position, and when she sucked up, the water just kind of fell back out of her mouth

But now she has this cup. It's the sassy grow up cup. No spill, no spout. This cups looks a bit more appropriate for Hailey's age as well. She can experiment with getting the cup to her mouth without the liquid being gone by the time it gets there. Cuts down on her frustration level and hopefully she will get her drinking requirement each time she takes a drink and maybe, just maybe it will help her transition to an open cup.