Oral Motor Exercises

So, the next big therapy technique I want to tackle is oral motor exercises.  This particular therapy tool is a beast of a tool.  The uses, strategies, goals, and outcomes vary depending on population and disorder.  There is a huge variety of tools to use in oral motor therapies and there are even more opinions and strategies on how to perform OMEs effectively versus inappropriately.  There is not a whole lot of scientific evidence out there for any of it, but there is some science to discuss.  This is probably one of the most debated and argued about therapy technique used in the field of speech language pathology today.  There are strong voices for and strong voices against OMEs.  Now, if you are at all like me, then you were told over and over in graduate school that oral motor exercises are bad, downright evil even, and should never under any circumstances be used in therapy.  Anyone caught using oral motor therapy would be considered a quack and not worthy of the title Speech Language Pathologist.  Then you entered the real world and were faced with professionals from all over the place who not only use oral motor exercises, but swear by them as the only effective tool for treating a spcific problem. 

Again, if you are like me, you are left wondering, "What the heck?  What is going on here?"  There is no way both extremes can be right.  So, I did some investigating.  As a part of this investigation, I have collected two books written by some of the most prominent proponents of oral motor exercises in speech and language therapy.  I have been going through them to learn what it is these people are basing their therapy strategy on, why they think their strategy will work, and what the expected outcomes are.  I invite you to join me as I delve deeper into the world of oral motor exercises.  For those of you who have already made-up your mind about OMEs, I challenge you to keep an open mind and just explore.  You never know what you will find.  For those of you trying to decide, I invite you to explore and ask questions.  Thinking critically is going to be very important.  Don't be afraid to ask hard questions and demand evidence, or at the very least logical conclusions that can be backed up with serious scientific theories.

Over the next week, I will be creating different posts outlining a specific aspect of OMEs and attempting to weigh the pros and cons of this much debated therapy technique.  I think you will find, as I have, that the issue is far more complex and variable than most people realize.  There are things about it that may surprise you, and things about it that may not.  Regardless of what you think about it in the end, I hope this journey will at least be one of learning.  Let the exploration begin!