Oral Motor Exercises and Speech Therapy

Abstract

This paper will discuss the speech therapy and the oral motor exercises and how they are related to one another. These aspects are important for making sure that the speech disorder in children is cured. They help the children by helping them to learn how to speak and by ensuring that their speech is improved. This is done by various exercises and other means which are discussed in this paper. Oral Motor Exercises and Speech Therapy

Speech Therapy

Definition

Speech therapy is the diagnosis and treatment of a speech disorder, expressive or receptive language disorder, or certain swallowing disorders by a trained speech-language pathologist (SLP). SLPs commonly are called speech therapists.

Purpose

The purpose of speech therapy is to improve communication and/or the understanding of language and/or to remediate swallowing difficulties. In addition to oral communication, speech therapy may include sign language, picture communication, and the use of assistive devices to help augment speech or serve as an alternate form of communication (augmented and alternative communication [AAC]).

Demographics

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008 there were about 119,300 practicing SLPs in the United States, with the number expected to grow to about 141,400 by 2018. Of these, about 48% practice in schools, 9% are self-employed in private practice, and the remainder practice at hospitals, nursing homes, other health care facilities, or provide in home health care services, usually through Medicare and Medicaid programs (Manolson, 1983).

Description

Speech therapy addresses problems with speech production, language disorders, and swallowing. Problems with speech production include issues of articulation, speech rhythm, fluency, voice production, resonance, tone, and accent.

There are two basic categories of language disorders: expressive language disorders, which involves problems producing language and receptive language disorders, which involves problems understanding language. Individuals with expressive language disorders have difficulty in using language at the level expected for their age group (Hoff, 2005). Often children with this type of disorder have lower than expected vocabularies, form sentences with a simpler structure than is expected, and have more difficulties expressing themselves in writing than other children their age. In some cases, (e.g. after a stroke) only one area will show a deficiency, such as an individual who has a good vocabulary but difficulty forming complex sentences. In other cases, all areas of language production are affected.

Individuals with receptive language disorders have difficulty understanding and processing language. This can affect comprehension of spoken or written language, or both. People who have difficulty understanding and following directions, responding to questions, or following a conversation may have a receptive language disorder. Individuals who can read words on the page but are unable to process the meaning of what they read have a receptive language disorder (McLaughlin, 1998).

Speech therapy also addresses problems of swallowing that originate in the mouth and throat. Infants with birth defects of the mouth and individuals who have had a stroke or who have certain diseases such as multiple sclerosis are most likely to have swallowing problems.

Speech therapy is individualized. SLPs use a variety of techniques to overcome ...