Incorporating yummy treats into your oral motor therapy sessions is a great way to spark interest and increase attention. Most brands will do, but Dum Dums are my favorite. They're not too big, not too small, but just the right size. And as you can see from the list of ideas and activities below - very versatile! I give my kids two flavor options and let them pick one to work with.

Oral Motor Exercises to Help Speech in Toddlers and Preschoolers – Why Science Says They Don’t Work
What Does Oral Motor Mean Exactly?
All website sales support our free mission-based speech therapy clinic for underserved toddlers and preschoolers in the rolling hills of central Kentucky where the Bluegrass meets the Appalachians. Again, but in English please! Because of this, it never really felt right or worth pursuing for me, or especially for a kid. Besides — have you ever really tried to get a 2 or 3 year old to do these kinds of things for more than a minute or two?
Fun, Edible Oral Motor Exercises for Kids
The efficacy of non-speech oral motor exercises is a topic that has been debated among speech-language pathologists for quite some time. While many SLPs claim that oral motor exercises involving breath and various movements of the tongue, lips, cheeks and jaw will increase strength and accuracy of speech sound production, others state that these exercises are not effective in improving articulation and will therefore avoid incorporating them into therapy. This is a detriment to children who exhibit reduced oral motor skills! Current research indicates the following:.
Tons of oral motor exercises for toddlers and kids that can easily and naturally be used in the home. Plus, get a free downloadable PDF! He was 12 months old when his mother came to me for help. I learned that Micheal was taking all sorts of soft cooked veggies and fruits, putting them into his mouth, seemingly chewing them for a long time, and then they would haphazardly fall out of his mouth.