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Oral motor exercises are activities that help kids with special needs improve their speech by working on movements of the mouth, tongue, and face. These exercises can include things like blowing bubbles, chewing on special toys, making silly faces, and drinking from a straw. They’re simple activities that parents can do at home to help their child practice important skills for talking.
Who can benefit from oral motor exercises?
Anyone can benefit from oral motor exercises, including individuals with speech or swallowing difficulties, children in early childhood development, older adults, and professionals such as singers and actors.
How often should oral motor exercises be done?
The frequency and duration of oral motor exercises will depend on an individual’s needs and should be determined in consultation with a speech therapist or other professional.
What types of oral motor exercises are there?
There are many types of oral motor exercises, including blowing bubbles, sucking through a straw, making different sounds with the mouth, and chewing different textures of food.
Oral motor exercises are a set of targeted, nonspeech activities designed to strengthen and coordinate the oral muscles, including those of the lips, tongue, cheeks, and jaw. These exercises aim to improve oral motor skills, which are essential for clear speech production, safe swallowing, and overall oral function. By engaging in repetitive, structured tasks that isolate specific muscle groups, children with speech and oral motor difficulties can develop the strength, range of motion, and precision needed for effective communication.
Helpful Resources:
Oral motor exercises are versatile tools that can be tailored to address specific speech and oral motor challenges. Here are some common ways these exercises are used:
| Exercise Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Lip Exercises | Lip puckering, smiling, blowing whistles |
| Tongue Exercises | Tongue curls, side-to-side movements, licking |
| Jaw Exercises | Chewing, opening and closing mouth, lateral movements |
By targeting specific muscle groups and gradually increasing the complexity of the exercises, parents and therapists can help children develop the oral motor skills needed for clearer, more effective communication.
