Oral motor spoon
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, or developmental delays face challenges in controlling tongue movement and oral awareness due to conventional spoon designs that do not effectively guide proper eating techniques, leading to difficulties in feeding and oral motor skill development.
Innovation Solution
An oral motor spoon with a thick, flat, blunt, rectangular-shaped tip and a forwardly-sloped concave bowl that encourages proper tongue positioning and lip movement, featuring textured ridges for increased oral awareness, designed to guide users in learning how to use a spoon effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional spoon design is used, then the spoon structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but it fails to guide proper tongue positioning and lip movement, resulting in poor oral motor skill development
Solution Approach 1:
The spoon applies local quality by creating specific textured regions (ridges and grooves) on the bowl surface that provide targeted tactile stimulation to the lips and tongue, while the rest of the spoon maintains a simple conventional structure. This localized complexity addresses oral motor skill needs without requiring the entire spoon to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The spoon bowl surface is segmented into distinct ridges and grooves that create separate tactile zones. These segmented features provide structured tactile input that guides tongue positioning and lip movement, breaking down the complex task of oral motor control into manageable tactile cues.
2Reliability
If a conventional spoon is used, then manufacturing is simple, but the spoon cannot provide tactile stimulation to increase oral awareness
Solution Approach 1:
The textured ridges and grooves are incorporated as localized surface features on the spoon bowl, providing tactile stimulation functionality without requiring a complete redesign of the entire spoon. This localized approach maintains relative manufacturing simplicity while achieving the goal of enhanced oral awareness.
3Ease of operation
If a conventional spoon is used, then the structure is simple, but it causes liquid to overflow when tilted and allows lips to obstruct fluid passage
Solution Approach 1:
The raised rim is implemented as a localized structural feature at the bowl opening, providing spill prevention functionality without requiring complex construction throughout the entire bowl. This localized modification improves feeding efficiency while maintaining relatively simple overall bowl construction.
Data Source
AI summary
An oral motor spoon for improving oral motor skills includes a handle attached to a bowl section that forms a forwardly-sloped concave bowl that curves sharply upwardly to a vertical plane adjacent the tip. The underside of the bowl section preferably includes a series of linear, textured ridges running transversely in parallel relation thereacross. The tip of the bowl section is preferably formed into a generally flat exterior edge in a vertical plane, and the upper horizontal edge of the tip is preferably elevated above than the remaining perimeter of the bowl.