Orofacial Myofunctional
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy clinic
Improving how your child moves their tongue, lips and cheeks – so they can eat, breathe, sleep and speak well.
How our therapists can help
We help children improve how they move their tongue, lips and cheeks so they can eat, breathe, sleep and speak well. Our Speech Pathologists are highly skilled in orofacial myofunctional therapy, and they can help:
- Identify if a child has a tongue tie and help families to decide whether a release would be beneficial
- Provide pre and post therapy to ensure better results after a tongue tie release
- Correct speech issues caused by improper tongue placement
- Re-train the tongue for a normal resting position and swallow pattern
- Correct tongue thrust (when the tongue pushes forward during eating and speaking)
- Reduce drooling
- Improve chewing
- Improve lip closure, cheek strength, and tongue mobility
- Stop oral habits like thumb and/or finger sucking and dummy use
- Encourage nasal breathing over mouth breathing
Our assessment approach
Our therapists ask questions and interact with the child to work out whether there is a problem, and if so, how we can help. We are interested in how the child eats, breathes, concentrates, sleeps, moves and speaks so we will speak to the parent/caregiver to gain this information, and play and talk with the child to see how they move their muscles to perform these tasks. We will often ask you to bring some snacks for the child to the session so we can see how they eat and drink.
We will talk our findings through on the spot, and make referrals to other health professionals such as GPs, ENTs, Dentists, Orthodontists and Audiologists if required.
We approach intervention by focusing on activities that promote development, establish needed skills, and modify tasks or environments to support your child’s participation.
Our therapy techniques
We make a therapy plan based on each child’s individual needs and family circumstances which usually involves exercises and activities to complete each day. We like to check back with you regularly, either face to face or via video to make sure that the program is working, and to make updates so we continue to make progress and achieve our goals.
FAQs
What is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT)?
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (also known as ‘orofacial myology’) is a specialist treatment approach that some health professionals, such as Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Dentists who have completed additional training can provide. The aim of OMT is to improve how we move the muscles of our mouth and face so we can eat, breathe, sleep and speak well. Due to habits, weakness or medical reasons, some people have developed incorrect muscle patterns, such as breathing through their mouth and pushing their tongue forward when they speak and eat. This can change how our face develops, our teeth grow, our biting, chewing and our speech. OMT re-trains and re-patterns our muscles to have optimal resting posture and to move in the correct way. This is done through exercises that need to be completed every day and updated as improvements are made.
Does my child need Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy?
We are happy to help you decide whether this would benefit your child. If you child breathes through their mouth, grinds their teeth, pushes their tongue forward when they speak or eat, dribbles or drools, finds it hard to chew food, uses a dummy or sucks their thumb, has a potential or diagnosed tongue tie, is a messy eater, has disrupted sleep, or has had a relapse after orthodontic treatment then it will likely be beneficial. We also make referrals to other health professions (eg. Dentists, Ear Nose and Throat Doctors, Orthodontists) if we feel that would be beneficial.
How many sessions will my child need?
It really depends on what your child needs to improve, how committed you are to home practice and how much progress your child makes. We start with an assessment session where we ask you and your child lots of questions, observe how they move their muscles, look inside their mouth, watch them eat a snack and talk with them. Based on the results, we will discuss whether you would benefit from weekly or fortnightly therapy and discuss the therapy plan.
What happens in therapy sessions?
Therapy sessions are usually weekly or fortnightly. We usually review the previous exercises given and see how the child has progressed. We talk about any changes that have been made, and how home practice went. We then go through the next set of exercises and make sure the child can do these and knows what to do for their home practice.
Do I need to be present in my child’s sessions?
For younger children (below 10) it is important that a parent/carer attend the sessions so they can assist the child with their home practice. Older children and adolescents can attend sessions independently, assuming they are able and likely to complete the home practice independently.
Can sessions be online?
Yes! Ideally the assessment session is at our office in Leichhardt but we can do this online if this does not work for you. Ongoing sessions can be face to face or online.
Is orofacial myofunctional therapy painful?
No, not at all. Children are learning to move their lips, tongue and cheeks in a different way which may feel strange at first, but it is not painful in any way.
Can I chat with you before I make an appointment?
Yes of course! Make an enquiry via phone, email or through our website and request a short 15 minute consult in our Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy Clinic. Our Speech Pathologist will contact you to discuss whether this service would be beneficial for your child.
