ORAL MOTOR THERAPY

The oral mechanism and its functions are addressed in therapy for articulation improvement and swallowing disorders in infants and adults. Children with multiple sound errors or misarticulations may have difficulty with their control of oral motor movements which impacts on adequate sound production. Infants may have a developmental disorder causing difficulty in learning to suck, chew and/or swallow and adults may experience difficulty chewing and swallowing as a result of an illness, stroke or progressive medical condition. In all these instances oral motor training or retraining is a vital part of the therapy process. Each case requires individual assessment to determine where the oral motor difficulties lie.