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Possible
Oral Apraxia or Oral Motor Warning Signs
There are
two types of oral motor problems.
Oral Apraxia
is a disorder where the child, who typically is a "late talker" is unable
to coordinate and/or initiate movement of their jaw, lips and tongue (articulators)
on command.
An
Oral Motor Disorder, which could be a different oral motor problem than
apraxia (could be from weakness/dysarthria for example) is the second
type, in which the child is unable to coordinate and/or initiate movement
of normal eating movements (vegetative activities.)
Here
are some possible warning signs of the two types of oral motor problems,
written by Lisa Geng, the parent of two children who were diagnosed by
a neurologist (Trever. DeSouza MD) and a neurodevelopmental pediatrician
(Marilyn Agin MD) with two different types of oral motor problems, with
help from Cherab's
advisor, Sara
R. Johnson, CCC/SLP.
Can your child do the following regularly or on command:
- smile?
- kiss or make a
kiss face?
- stick out his/her
tongue?
- try to touch his/her
tongue to his/her nose?
- make raspberries?
- lick peanut butter
off his/her upper, side, or lower lip?
- imitate making
a funny face?
- blow out candles
or blow bubbles? (a typically-developing ten-month old can do this)
- bite his/her lower
lip?
- show vvarious emotions
in facial expressions?
- blow his/her nose
on command? (undocumented, off the record sign of apraxia that
is reported as a problem by most parents of all aged, even teen apraxic
children through the CHERAB group. This aspect of apraxia can
also be overcome through strategies/therapies to assist with motor planning.
These children have no trouble breathing through their nose or
mouth all day long, but when a tissue it brought to their nose and they
are told to breath out, they will breath in instead. There are
nose horns developed by Sara Johnson CCC SLP which help a child learn
to motor plan this activity as well. Breath control on command
is essential for verbal speech.)
If your child cannot
do all or some of the above, this may be a sign of Oral Apraxia, which
is worth looking into with medical and speech professionals.
Or does your child...
- drool excessively?
- bite straws when
drinking or put the straw more than 1/4 inch into his/her mouth?
- overstuff his/her
mouth when eating?
- have an open mouth
posture?
- have a protruding
tongue?
- look like he/she
is smiling all the time?
- prefer one brand
of baby food carrots over another?
- have a limited
diet?
- swallow without
chewing?
- grind his/her teeth
during the day?
- have a history
of difficult nursing (or did you "not make enough milk" for
your child to nurse)?
If your child does
all or some of the above, this may be a sign of Oral Motor problems, which
is worth exploring with medical and speech professionals.
If you are seeing any of the above signs, seek out the services of a Speech
Language Therapist for an evaluation of these skills. This can be done
through your State's Early Intervention Programs, a free
federally funded program for qualified children from birth to three years
of age or through your school district's
preschool disabled program, a free program for qualified children between
the ages of three to 6 years. You can also contact the American Speech
Language-Hearing Association in Rockville, Maryland for a list of certified
clinicians in your area. It is very important to have an ACCURATE assessment
completed by a skilled clinician. You may also want an evaluation from
a developmental pediatrician, or pediatric neurologist to look for signs
of low tone (hypotonia).
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