Tag: Dysphagia

Oral Motor Techniques in History

By Pam Marshalla

Q: I have heard you say that oral motor treatment is not new. What do you mean? Dr. Charles Van Riper, the “father” of articulation therapy said that techniques to manipulate mouth movements and positions, for speech sound production, were centuries old in Europe. In the 1960’s, Mildren Berry and Jon Eisenson said that articulation therapy was “as old as the Hitites.” Last year I began an investigation into the use of methods to facilitate oral (jaw, lip, and tongue)…

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How to Define Oral-Motor Therapy (Especially for Naysayers)

By Pam Marshalla

Q: What is oral motor therapy? How do you define it and what is its purpose? This is the definition I use: Oral-motor therapy (OMT) is the process of facilitating improved jaw, lip and tongue function. Oral-motor techniques can be used in any of the following therapies: articulation, phonology, dysphagia, feeding, orofacial myology, and occupational or physical therapy. You can discover the importance of speech movements by engaging in a simple procedure. Count aloud from one to ten. Did anything move?…

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What Does Oral Motor Therapy Have to Do With Speech?

By Pam Marshalla

Q: Most oral motor exercises are not identical to the movements required for speech. No English speech sounds involve tongue wagging, whistling, tongue clicks, tongue curls, etc. So what do oral motor exercises have to do with speech? In 2007, I reviewed 73 textbooks, clinical guides, and conference proceedings in the areas of articulation, phonology, motor speech, feeding, dysphagia, orofacial myology, and oral motor. These books spanned the years 1912-2007. I was studying the history of jaw, lip, and tongue…

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