What are oral motor exercises?
Oral-motor exercises Speech therapy activities involve sensory stimulation to the lips, jaw, tongue and soft palate which are intended to influence the physiologic basis of the oropharyngeal mechanism, thus improving its functions.Bridges Speech Center offers specialized speech therapy Dubai to help children and adults improve communication skills and confidence. Oral motor therapy at Bridges Speech Center focuses on strengthening the lips, tongue, and jaw to improve clarity, pronunciation, and overall speech development
Why are oral motor exercises needed?
Oral motor exercises are essential to improve strength and range of movements of oral musculature. This helps to boost clear articulation and precise speech sounds. Stronger and more coordinated movements help with better sound production, resonance, and overall intelligibility. At Bridges Speech Center, we combine expertise and compassion to deliver effective therapy for speech, language, and communication challenges.
Who May Benefit from Oral Motor Exercises?
Clients who display oral-motor difficulties as compared to their typically developing peers for feeding and speech are potential candidates. These difficulties include reduced mobility, reduced agility, reduced precision, and reduced endurance.
Children with oral muscle weakness
- Low muscle tone (hypotonia), often seen in conditions like down syndrome
- Neuromuscular disorders such as cerebral palsy.
Children with speech sound disorders
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).
- Articulation Disorders, caused due to weak or poorly coordinated oral movements.
Children with feeding concerns, commonly exhibited as difficulty in sucking, chewing or swallowing.
Adults with Acquired Neurological Conditions
- Stroke (Aphasia /Dysarthria)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Traumatic brain injury
How to perform Oral Motor Exercises?
Passive and active exercises are performed to improve the strength, range of motion and coordination of muscles, thereby increasing clarity of speech.
Passive exercises (Do not require effort from the client)
- Massage: Relaxes and reduces muscle tension
- Stretching: Increases the range of motion of muscles
Active exercises (Requires effort from the client):
Lips:
- Lip retraction (smiling)
- Lip protrusion (puckering)
- Alternating between lip retraction and protrusion
- Lip Press (pursing as if holding a secret)
- Blowing (puffing cheeks and holding/blowing)
Tongue:
- Tongue extension (sticking out tongue as far as possible)
- Tongue retraction (pulling the tongue back as if saying the sound /k/)
- Alternating between tongue extension and retraction
- Tongue elevation (placing tongue on philtrum and alveolar ridge)
- Tongue lateralisation (moving tongue from side to side)
Jaw:
- Jaw stability (controlling the position and movements of the jaw)
- Jaw Opening (opening the jaw as widely as possible)
- Jaw grading (opening the jaw to various heights)
- Jaw lateralization (moving the jaw from side to side)
- Jaw-tongue dissociation (Moving the jaw independent of tongue)
It is important to remember that strength and range of motion is always measured against resistance to achieve optimum results in speech. For example, tongue lateralization is worked on while pressing against a tongue depressor.
Tools for Oral Motor Exercises:
The range of tools required to perform these exercises vary from as simple as the therapist’s hands to specialized and individualized materials. Readily available tools include gloved fingers, cotton swabs, straws and ice cream sticks. Chewy tubes, vibrating tools for sensory input, bite blocks for jaw strength, horns and whistles for oral muscle stimulation, and specialized brushes for sensory and biting exercises are few examples of specialized tools which are available from various brands in the market.
Points to Remember
- Correct posture is mandatory.
- Exercises should give a pulling or stretching sensation but not pain.
- Visual feedback helps in better understanding of the exercises.
- Practice for strength, and then proceed to speed.
- Keep the environment quiet and distraction-free.
- Keep sessions short in duration with multiple repetitions throughout the day.
- Exercises should be a part of daily routine.
Connection between Oral Motor Exercises Speech Therapy and Clarity of Speech:
1. Builds Awareness of Mouth Movements
Some clients aren’t fully aware of where their articulators are and how to move them around in the oral cavity. Oral motor exercises combined with visual feedback helps them see and feel placement, which boosts clarity and pronunciations.
2. Strengthens the Muscles Used for Speech
These exercises improve the strength, coordination, and endurance of the muscles used in speech. For example, adequate strength of lip closure makes the sounds /p/, /b/, /m/ more distinct.
3. Improves Range of Motion
Improving the ability to move the articulators and increasing the range of motion, allows correct placement different sounds. For example, adequate elevation of tongue tip helps in precise production of /l/.
4. Enhances Coordination & Agility
Spontaneous connected speech needs fast, accurate switching between sounds. Oral motor tasks alternating movements of lip protrusion and retraction train the muscles to move quickly and precisely.
5. Supports Breath & Voice Control
Exercises that involve blowing, humming, or sustained sounds help control airflow and voicing. For example, smooth, steady airflow is needed for /s/ and /f/.
At Bridges Speech Center, we have a dedicated team of certified speech, language and feeding therapists who excel in delivering evidence based oral motor exercises speech therapy. Our success is measured by the ‘wide smiles’ and ‘clear thank you’ of the wonderful clients who have benefitted from this therapy. Do reach out to know more about the comprehensive services we offer!
