By Pam Marshalla
Q: In your workshop on the lisps and R, you said that we now have numbers to define jaw stability. Can you share them here? Yes! I would love to! As we all know, the mouth can move in a range that far exceeds that necessary for correct speech articulation, therefore it has to have mechanisms to hold its moving parts in place. This process is called oral stability. Oral stability consists of three parts: jaw stability, lip stability, and…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: I struggle with a student who can say the R sound correctly in the prevocalic position but not unless I correct her. I say, “What’s a wabbit?” and then she corrects herself. She has been in therapy for a few months. Should I film her? And what else can I do to help her? If the R sounds correct, you are doing fine! She is on her way. Filming is always a great idea to help clue kids in…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Do SLP’s need a background in orofacial myofunctional therapy? I am not a certified orofacial myologist, but I have taken many seminars on the topic. I attend their conventions periodically, and I read and have written for the IAOM Journal. I have found that concepts from orofacial myofunctional therapy have been very useful to me as another way to gain a broad perspective of oral movements. Throughout my career I have combined concepts from orofacial myology, feeding development and therapy, and…
By Pam Marshalla
Q: My client is having trouble with L. When he makes his L it sounds as though he is forming some type of constriction in the far back of his mouth. It almost sounds like a glottal stop, but it is not that far back. He can hear the error but cannot change it. This has been called a “Retroflex L”. It means that the client is lifting the back of his tongue instead of the tip of his tongue…
