Oral motor exercises are a broad term that encompasses any activity that involves movements of the mouth, lips, or tongue. These exercises are often used as a speech therapy intervention for individuals with speech difficulties.
Oral motor exercises can be performed in isolation, but also be included as part of a multi-sensory approach during articulation practice. The goal of oral motor exercises is to improve the coordination, strength, and range of motion necessary for the different movements required for speech production.
Oral Motor Exercises for Speech Therapy are exercises that help students and adults build their oral motor muscles and increase the accuracy of their communication. Speech therapists use several different techniques to assess and remediate the production of /s/ – from helping children to do so in spontaneous speech situations to using more specific drills.
The most common oral motor exercises involve tongue massaging exercises which gets the child practicing moving their tongue in and out through their mouth as well as up and down. Oral Motor Exercises for Speech Therapy are especially important for adults who have not been exposed to speech therapy at school or in the home. The purpose of these exercises is to increase the accuracy of a person’s communication, create stronger speech muscles, and increase the overall strength and range of motion of the mouth, jaw, lips, tongue and throat.
Speech therapy can be an effective treatment for individuals with articulation disorders, such as stuttering and dysarthria. It is recommended that individuals receive speech therapy as early in their development as possible—before the age of three.
However, by the time a child is three years old, the critical components of speech production have been mastered. In other words, no further intensive instruction will allow the child to improve fluency or eliminate stuttering. Treatment options are limited in this stage of development and may be ineffective or counterproductive.
The primary purpose of speech therapy is to help children and adults with communication difficulties because of language, swallowing, or breathing disorders. Some individuals may also have difficulty speaking because they have a hidden motor problem that affects their ability to use their tongue and lips for speech.
The primary goals of speech therapy are to maximize language skills, motor skills, and vocal quality. Speech therapists work with clients to improve their communication and reduce the effects of their underlying motor difficulties.
Eating, drinking, swallowing, and speaking require a complex series of movements that involves the lips, tongue, jaw, and palate. For some people with speech or swallowing disorders, performing these actions can be difficult. However, there are exercises that can build strength and improve coordination in the muscles used for these activities. These exercises are called “oral motor exercises.” Oral motor exercises are designed to help speech therapy patients improve their fine motor skills. These exercises can be done at home and during the day, so long as you have space to perform them without injuring yourself or anyone around you. When it comes to oral motor exercises to improve speech, there are two main types of exercises: oral muscle exercises and tongue exercises. Each type of exercise is beneficial in its own way, but they should be combined together for the best results. Below we’ll discuss both types of exercises and offer some examples of each type of exercise that you can do at home.