positive stories about dribble please??

[MojoLost]

I know that in the grand scheme of things DS's dribble is not the greatest of issues, but he is starting school in september and kids in playground,etc are starting to point out and say things like "yuk disgusting!!!".
I am really worried that on top of the social difficulties he has, the bl**dy dribble just pushing things a bit further and he will get terribly alienated at school.

HOW CAN I STOP IT???

Maybe I dreamt it, but I am sure that he actually stopped dribbling for a few months, I thought it was all over, but for the last 3 months or so it has come back with vengeance, he is dribbling BUCKETS. It just won't stop.
One side of his body is weaker than the other, so the dribble only comes out of the weaker side of his mouth.

The SALT's only suggestion is to make thick milkshakes and make him drink them with a straw.

Am I missing something? There must be some other wonderful product out there than can help with strengthening his mouth area??

Any ideas welcome.

well dd is having an op soon to stop it.#there are things that can help, the best person is moondog.

We have had some children use patches with some success, I don't know much about them, a quick search gave me the name 'Scopoderm Patches' which might be worth a look. Apparently some children have bad side effects though. Always check with a GP/specialist first!

B.

2shoes, good luck with the operation. Do you know what it involves?

Ben: I saw a thread about patches here on mumsnet some weeks ago, but my worry is that they may dehydrate DS. What hoping for some magic brush or something of the sort to stimulate his tongue and mouth.

I shall watch with interest. Good luck 2shoes for your dd op.

I am thinking my ds would benefit from something, as he is getting worse and worse with this. He is now 10yo with cp. I am seeing the paediatrician at the end of the month, and I hope he can help sort it out. He's so soggy!

2shoes: is the op soon?

Hi twoisplenty, good luck with the pediatrician, let us know if he has any good ideas.
Sorry to hear your ds is getting worse with this, I thought it would improve with time (my thinking what that the muscles would get stronger with time therefor control would improve) My DS is getting worse as well.

I am still waiting for a date, it will be after thr hoilidys as I promised dd she will miss school. they will remove a saliva(sp) gland and reposition another.

That has made me smile "I promised dd she will miss school"!!! Quite right!

Mojolost - My ds did get better with this, he was dry most of the time from about the age of 6 upto last year or so. I thought it may be something to do with him getting second teeth setting him off again, but I do think that me making excuses!

I have got to the point of being desparate to see the doctor, because it's such a horrid problem, isn't it? I really hope he offers something immediately, but I'm impatient with everything!

well that's made me feel slightly better twoisplenty, glad to know it was under control for such a long time. Don't know if I can wait until DS turns 6 though, it is horrid. Sounds like you are on the right track, your DS's new problem must be due to new teeth, which means it will stop eventually, so just keep positive. Maybe a dentist can help as well.
xx

your SLT is pretty unhelpful eh?

so, you can get the hyoscine on patches and also as a liquid medicine - you can also cheat a bit and try joyrides to see if they help first (the travel sickness tabs - it's the same stuff)

you can try face tapping, or other oral/ facial stimulation (lemon swabs/ cold flannels etc). i think 'handle' have a website that offers some ideas, or i like new-vis.

there are also more clinical/ surgical methods - botox in the salivary glands (although this is a little controversial - some claim great results but there have been issues with it affecting swallow in some cases), or the salivary glands op like 2shoes...

our SLT was getting the LSAs to work on a programme of mouth closure with dd2 - she is very much a mouth breather which exacerbates the issue.

lots of things to try.

dd2 just wears a sweat band now, and we and the LSAs remind her to wipe her chin as necessary. we do a lot of 'swallow' reminding too.

your SLT should be able to suggest some oral stimulation stuff too. don't let her get away with ridiculous advice about thick shakes when you are asking about drool.

Thanks for all your ideas madwoman.... joyrides glup, might try that. The sweat band, what a brilliant idea! now why didn't i think about that.

Ds is constantly sucking on things, specially the labels on clothes, I have tried the facial stimulation stuff, but I gave up a little bit on them, I guess I have to bite the bullet and work on them again.

Will check that website, thanks again.