There are many types of straws, thin, thick, squiggly, etc.Blowing bubbles into their glass with the straw can also be very motivating and a great way to address coordination, combine skills as well as work on different aspects of the oral musculature. Forming a good “labial seal” or lip seal around the straw is a skill that should be introduced by 12 to 18 months of age. Using straws to drink is another really great way to have a child use every aspect of their mouth.Bubbles give instant gratification if blown appropriately by moving their lips to protrude and have enough air support to blow the bubble! To increase verbal output and provide some more lip work, have your child/client say “pop,” “pop,” “pop” when popping the bubbles. We also love using bubbles to aid with strengthening their core as well as breath support. Blowing bubbles is for lip and cheek weakness and it is a really fun way for children to play with bubbles without knowing it is therapy.It provides them with a visual model of the parent/clinician’s mouth as well as their own for successful movement. They are a great visual as well as aid in self-awareness for a child who has difficulty with oral motor movements. Mirrors provide the most naturalistic feedback. We keep these trusty mirrors in our “tool kit” for use as a therapist for more than just oral motor, but they certainly have their purpose in oral motor therapy. Mirrors are a very useful tool for oral motor therapy.These are a fun, simple and a quick way to get in a few exercises without your child/client knowing they are even doing “work.” They can be done while just playing with your child, in the car, bathroom mirror, tub, etc. To name a few, you can make big smiles, stick out your tongue from side to side and up and down, blow raspberries, fish lips, hold air on your cheeks and “pop,” etc. You can use a mirror if you’d like, but don’t need too as long as your child is imitating your silly faces. No materials needed, just your fun silly selves. Silly faces, works on the whole oral mechanism and musculature, sure to provide some laughs and make some memories.
Some of the best therapy is done and most progress is made when kids feel like they are “playing” and not “working.” There are so many fun ways to target strengthening the lips, tongue, cheeks and jaw! Let’s go over some fun, simple, cheap ways to target oral motor exercises in the home environment that won’t break the bank and will provide an interactive way to work on and improve any weaknesses in a child’s oral motor mechanism! We and our colleagues have always been huge advocates about making oral motor targets FUN, simplistic and interactive at home. We look for low muscle tone, how a child coordinates his/her mouth by imitating tongue and lip movements, as well as assessing a child’s jaw, lip, tongue strength and range of motion. We assess the oral cavity/mouth for adequate function and structural integrity. As Speech-Language Pathologists, we are highly trained in this area in order to assess signs of weakness and/or abnormalities with the oral structures/mechanism.
Oral motor difficulties consist of the inability of the mouth to do what the brain tells it to do due to motor planning difficulties or muscle weakness, which can affect a child’s feeding abilities as well as their speech production and intelligibility. Article by: Michelle Newman & Kaitlin Castiglione, Speech-Language Pathologists
0 kommentar(er)
