Oral motor muscles isn’t what most parents think of when it comes to speech and language disorders. These include the tongue, cheeks, lips, and jaw.

They start to develop before birth and keep refining through childhood, usually around age six or seven.

Oral motor skills are essential for producing clear speech, drinking, and eating. When these skills don’t develop as anticipated, a child can have difficulty with speech clarity, feeding, or even both.

Signs of oral motor impairment may include:

  • Pediatric dysphagia, difficulty swallowing or sucking
  • Difficulty latching when breastfeeding
  • Child prefers to eat soft foods to avoid chewing
  • Gagging, choking, coughing while eating.
  • Eats slowly
  • Doesn’t gain weight as they should
  • Keeps their lips and/or mouth open
  • Excessive movement of the mouth when talking
  • Has difficulty expressing clear speech
  • Dysarthria, slow speech or slurring
  • Trouble saying difficult or long word

How speech is affected by oral motor skills 

Speaking clearly depends on your articulators. This includes your larynx, soft and hard palates, nasal cavity, tongue, teeth, and lips.

If a child’s articulators are weak or not properly developed, it can lead to unclear, quiet, or slurred speech.

If they have poor coordination of their articulators, they may jumble up which sounds go last or first within their words

How swallowing is affect by oral motor skills 

Swallowing is  a more complex skill than most people realize. It incorporates over 30 muscles and 6 cranial nerves for the precise coordination needed to effectively and safely transport food and liquids.

Dysphagia is when any of the steps break down. It can cause a number of health concerns for a childOral motor skills are essential for communicating, swallowing and eating.

How to help your child with their oral motor skills 

If your child oral motor skills aren’t reaching their milestones, it can impact every aspect of their life, from social confidence to nutrition.

With the support from the team at First Words Speech Therapy, your child can build stronger oral motor skills for clearer communication and healthy development. We specialize in evaluating and treating oral motor deficits.

We develop an individual treatment plan based your child’s unique needs to build stronger oral motor skills.