ORAL-MOTOR EXERCISES

There is a controversy among SLPs about O-M and whether it has a place in our profession. The main person opposed is Gregory Lof who has published several articles on the worthlessness of O-M exercises. When I was at the ASHA Convention, I went to a session on /r/ therapy given by a university professor. After the presentation, a question about using O-M techniques was asked. The professor quickly dismissed the question by saying, “The research is clear that these techniques don’t work.”

Interestingly, Lof has done a survey of SLPs and 85% report using O-M techniques! I think the important question here is if these techniques are worthless, why are the vast majority of us using them? And I think this answer is clear. We use them because they work!

Does this mean all oral-motor exercises are effective? No, they must have a specific purpose for what you are remediating. So wagging the tongue left/right outside the mouth would be worthless because it does not have a specific purpose for remediating any sounds. On the other hand, I have developed a technique for remediating the /s/ sound that I call EE-POP which has worked every time on hundreds of students through the years. This techniques helps in developing the proper stabilization and differentiation needed for saying the /s/ sound correctly. You can read about this technique in the Journal of Perceptional and Motor Skills (Sacks, Flipsen, Neils-Strunjas, Volume 117, Issue 2, October 2013: pp. 559-577). Or if you want to see this technique in action, go to Satpac.com and go to the bottom of the page for free CEUs and watch the videos.

At an evidence-based practice conference in 2004, Ylivasker said that the strongest evidence for the use of a specific technique is its effectiveness with the particular client. If it works-do it; if not, try something else!

Stephen Sacks
SATPAC Speech
To see details about /r/ and /s/ remediation and more information about my approach, I offer free ASHA CEUs on my website Satpac.com or you are welcome to just watch the presentation.

Workshops- To get information about Pam Marshalla’s workshops in February in Southern California, here is the link. If you would like me to come and speak to your organization or school district, contact me at steve@satpac.comsteve@satpac.com