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Lingraphica Small Talk Oral Motor Exercises
To help with oral motor strength and coordination for articulation - the lip and tongue exercises are most valuable. ENJOY!!
Here are some additional Oral Motor Exercises you can practice at home:
To start, the most important thing to remember is that you have a special “spot” in your mouth that we will use for many of our exercises.
This “spot” is right behind your front teeth and is where we move our tongue when saying “t” and “d”. Sometimes your exercises call this the “magic spot”.
Exercise #1: Tongue on the Spot
It is important to practice keeping your tongue up on the spot. Take a small food item (one cheerio works perfectly) and place it on the very tip of your tongue.
Now, make your tongue move right up to the spot. Hold there for 1 minute. The small food item may melt but you can keep your tongue on the spot without it as well. Try to practice each day.
Exercise #2: Tongue Clicks
Practice making a “clock-ticking” sound. This tongue click is made by putting your tongue tip on the spot and sucking it slightly. Click your tongue - don’t pop it.
Do 20 tongue clicks at each practice session.
Exercise #3: Balloon Blow
Pretend that your upper lip is a balloon. Blow up the “balloon” by using air that you trap inside your mouth. Hold for 5 seconds.
Now try the same exercise, this time pretending that your lower lip is a balloon. Blow up the “balloon”. Hold for 5 seconds.
Switch back and forth between upper lip and lower lip until you have blown up each lip 5 times. This exercise is hard so try your best!!
Exercise #4: Open-Close Muscle Stretch
Suck your tongue up to the roof of your mouth. Keep it there while you open and close your mouth (jaw) ten times. Relax and repeat.
Exercise #5: Tongue Command
Draw a simple picture on the roof of your mouth or spell out a word. This will tickle a bit but remember to reach your tongue up tall and use your tongue tip to draw.
Exercise #6: Tongue Press
Bite your back teeth together and have your lips apart. Press your tongue tip hard into the "spot" (right behind the top front teeth) Count to 10 and then relax. Repeat several times.
Exercise #7: Slurp Swallow
We call this our special “Slurp Swallow” because it is so noisy. Ready?
Put your tongue tip on your spot.
Bite your back teeth together. They should fit together like a puzzle.
Keep your lips far apart, like a clown smiling.
Slurp!
Swallow.
After your first “Slurp Swallow,” your mouth may be dry. Take a tiny sip of water, just enough to moisten your mouth, between each “Slurp Swallow.”
As you do this exercise, your tongue must not push against your teeth. Try to feel a backward pull as you slurp. Do 10 “Slurp Swallows” at each practice session.