Hi,

 

I am a physical therapist working in Early Intervention in NJ. I have a 12 month child that I suspect has an undiagnosed syndrome. She has very low muscle throughout. Her cognitive level is about 6 months. She cannot sit unsupported. She can imitate a play action. She is making very few sounds. Frequently sticks out her tongue, open mouth posture. She can only eat pureed foods. I called for a speech assessment and was told by the Speech Therapist that there is no evidence that Oral Motor Therapy can help her speech at this age. Is that true?

Thank you for your help!

 

Tal

Dear Tal, 

Thank you for your question.  My name is Monica Purdy and I am a speech and language pathologist that also specializes in oral placement therapy and feeding. There is a lot of research on oral motor and the effectiveness and evidenced based information. If you visit this page on the TalkTools website you will find articles that you can print off and give to the speech therapist. Many speech therapists assume when someone mentions "oral motor" that they are referring to exercises such as "tongue wagging" (moving the tongue from side to side outside of the mouth), puffing the cheeks, and/or elevating the tongue to the nose or chin (again outside of the mouth). These activities do not have any support and are not related to speech or feeding and should not be used. However as you know being a physical therapist you can address muscle function by working on stability, dissociation, grading, precision and endurance in order to help a client with feeding and speech intelligibility. At TalkTools we do this by using kinesthetic feedback or tactile cues to help a client achieve these skills. Many times we work on feeding because it is a precursor to speech and we can prevent speech sound distortions from occurring if we address the muscles in feeding.   

I hope this helps, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Monica Purdy, M.A., CCC-SLP

Elizabeth Smithson, MSP, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has over 10 years of professional experience working with infants, children, adolescents and adults. She earned her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of South Carolina. Liz is also a Level 5 TalkTools® Trained Therapist. She has received specialized training in Oral Placement Therapy, Speech, Feeding, Apraxia, Sensory Processing Disorders, and PROMPT©. Liz works with clients with a wide range of disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  She works through her own private practice Elizabeth Smithson Therapy, LLC in the home setting and in the TalkTools® office in Charleston, SC.

Elizabeth Smithson, MSP, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has over 10 years of professional experience working with infants, children, adolescents and adults. She earned her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of South Carolina. Liz is also a Level 5 TalkTools® Trained Therapist. She has received specialized training in Oral Placement Therapy, Speech, Feeding, Apraxia, Sensory Processing Disorders, and PROMPT©. Liz works with clients with a wide range of disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  She works through her own private practice Elizabeth Smithson Therapy, LLC in the home setting and in the TalkTools® office in Charleston, SC.

Hi Karen,

I would advise that you work on the Bite Tube Set starting with the Red Bite Tube. This will work on your client's jaw strength and as you work through the bite tubes you can revisit the bite blocks. You would look to see if he is later able to achieve the "natural bite" and "bite hold" required with the bite blocks. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Liz

Elizabeth Smithson, MSP, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has over 10 years of professional experience working with infants, children, adolescents and adults. She earned her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of South Carolina. Liz is also a Level 5 TalkTools® Trained Therapist. She has received specialized training in Oral Placement Therapy, Speech, Feeding, Apraxia, Sensory Processing Disorders, and PROMPT©. Liz works with clients with a wide range of disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  She works through her own private practice Elizabeth Smithson Therapy, LLC in the home setting and in the TalkTools® office in Charleston, SC.

Hello,

I am trying to write a report to justify services to insurance for oral motor therapy.  The client I am working with has Down syndrome, he has had difficulty with chewing recently and his speech has become more slurred according to family. I purchased the CD "OPT Goals & Objectives for IEPs and Insurance Reimbursement" but am having much difficulty writing a report.  Do you have any sample evaluation reports available?

Peni

Hi Peni,

We unfortunately do not have examples of reports to offer but we do have sample evaluations and program plans in Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson's new book A Therapist's Guide to Rehabilitative Feeding and Speech Techniques for Teens and Adults and her book Assessment and Treatment of the Jaw. The first book mentioned focuses on adults but includes diagnostic codes and treatment codes for each example patient. They are not ICD-10 codes but they can be converted on the ASHA website. The second book has children examples (an infant with Down Syndrome) but no codes. I am not sure which book would fit your needs best but I wanted to give you options. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks,

Liz

Elizabeth Smithson, MSP, CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has over 10 years of professional experience working with infants, children, adolescents and adults. She earned her Master of Speech Pathology at the University of South Carolina. Liz is also a Level 5 TalkTools® Trained Therapist. She has received specialized training in Oral Placement Therapy, Speech, Feeding, Apraxia, Sensory Processing Disorders, and PROMPT©. Liz works with clients with a wide range of disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  She works through her own private practice Elizabeth Smithson Therapy, LLC in the home setting and in the TalkTools® office in Charleston, SC.