This advice-column-style blog for SLPs was authored by Pam Marshalla from 2006 to 2015, the archives of which can be explored here. Use the extensive keywords list found in the right-hand column (on mobile: at the bottom of the page) to browse specific topics, or use the search feature to locate specific words or phrases throughout the entire blog.
Jaw Sliding
By Pam Marshalla
Q: Could you talk about young kids with articulation disorders who demonstrate significant jaw sliding? What causes this when there is no neuromuscular problems?
Jaw sliding left and right pulls the tongue laterally away from its alignment with the palate. This causes articulation of the tongue to the palate to be off and this distorts sound quality. Treatment is to stabilize the jaw at midline.
There is no telling why these things occur. All movements are asymmetrical to a certain degree, but if the jaw is working even just a little asymmetrically, it throws speech off a lot.
My client exhibits jaw sliding to her left side during production of /s/, /sh/, and /ch/. When she bites down on a straw and given a verbal cue, she is able to stabilize jaw at midline to produce the sounds. Would you recommend referring her to an ENT?
I would love to hear what you wound up doing with your client! I have a student (age 9) who is showing excessive jaw mobility and a unilateral lisp. Her parents had scheduled an appointment to have a frenectomy prior to investigating speech therapy. She does exhibit a longer than usual frenum, but is able to adequately move her tongue for all speech sounds. She is able to stabilize her jaw independently during sentences, but I am struggling to help her move into longer stretches of speech. We have tried reading sentence by sentence, but this is difficult. I would love any guidance you may have!
Did you end up resolving this issue, Kristie?
A frenectomy should be done after functional assessment and oral motor interventions to prepare for the release . Pre and Post op care is critical.