ORAL MOTOR EXERCISES
Oral motor excercises are occasionally necessary for weak muscles in the mouth and face for speech production. They sometimes need strengthening, need to move farther and/or have better coordination. The exercises below can help make speech sounds better as well as help with the eating/feeding/swallowing problems. Below are listed some things, several speech therapists have recommended, you could do to help improve oral motor skills:


Lips
1. Open and close your mouth, as wide as you can
2. Pucker your lips (like whistling), then relax
3. Play with the mirror, make really big, """cheesy""" smiles and hold it for up to 10 secs if possible, then relax showing off all your teeth (if you have them!)
4. Pucker and hold, then smile and hold
5. Try lip smacking too! Trying to make a """smacking/popping""" sound (press lips firmly then release...)
6. Pucker your lips and swing left, then right
7. Puff out cheeks and hold air in, then slowly blow the air out
8. Practice blowing kisses and making the """Kissy""" sound... that works on the muscle around the lips
9. Say """OOOOOOOOO""" really puckering the lips and then """EEEEEEEEEE""" pulling back in a sort-of smile!
10. Try to close your lips and hold onto a tongue blade/popsicle stick or something sturdy but light ... it's not as easy as it would seem... but it's good practice for the lip muscles....

Tongue
1. Stick your tongue straight out, hold, then put it in
2. Move your tongue to the right corner of your mouth then to the left on the outside of your mouth
3. Push the inside of your cheek out with your tongue on the right side, then the left side
4. Lift your tongue up to your upper lip, then your lower lip; don't use your jaw to lift your tongue up
5. Lift your tongue up behind your front teeth as if you were saying """la"""
6. Open your mouth and lick your lips with your tongue in a wide circle

Tongue base
1. Click your tongue on the roof of your mouth
2. Stick your tongue out, then pull your tongue back in until it reaches the back of your throat
3. Say the syllable """ka"""
4. Say the syllable """ga"""
5. Say the syllable """ag"""
6. Swallow very hard

Note:
(1)The intensity of practice tends to diminish....As much as you can, you want to continue practicing everyday! So create a 'clown routine' for yourself
(2) One other quick thing....drooling is usually related to decreased swallowing frequency, so swallow your saliva!
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Speech pathologists have long used basic therapies involving vowel sounds to help patients improve facial muscle control. These methods work, but are time intensive, and offer no measurable resistance. When used in conjunction with speech therapy, resistance exercise gives better results. Currently the devices used to provide resistance are relatively crude instruments, including whistles, tongue depressors and fingers.
Facial Flex may be a valuable instrument for improving oral muscle strength.

These are what my speech therapist has me doing. It has really helped me alot. These are so easy, I do them when I am driving in the car, or washing dishes...I am doing them all the time...My mouth is still real hard to open but nothing like it was. I did find out tho that if you stop these for even one day,,,the mouth goes right back where it was...And I mean fast...Thanks Doc for telling everyone about them....They do work....Vicki

Hi, those exercises would have been most helpful a few months ago, but I sort of worked them out for myself. I am unable to get my mouth open wide enough to take a banana, I have to cut it up, and don,t know if I will ever be able to open it more, I have used the batons, but frankly not much good, any new ideas welcome.

Hi Garance

Please see this post on Trismus Problems.

Best wishes
Vinod

Thank-you for this post! very very helpful!

Dr.Vinod K Joshi

very intersting to read your oral Motor exercises. i recently had surgery to repair my defect in the soft palate. 90% has been successful but a samm part of the tissue which was taken from my palate has broken, which gives me problem with my speech. my consultant will seeme on the 16th sept. after he remove the padding in my mouth , He was happy with the progress and suggeste that the hole may close itself in time. i hope so, i keep watching every day but i see little progress. what do you think? I will try your exercises in the meantime. if i can help or support anyone who is is more need than me please ask the m to cantact me at my e.mail adress. once again thank you for your suggestion i will try the exercises. My very best wishes and Thanks to you. Fburghin