As both a speech therapist and a myofunctional therapist, I look for the “why” behind the symptoms. Many children who are referred to me have been working on their speech sounds for a long time, and the sounds may not be generalizing into conversational speech. I immediately look at the oral resting posture, which refers to the positioning of the tongue, jaw, and lips at rest. Some red flags include:
Mouth breathing.
Tongue thrusting forward.
Upper and bottom lip do not touch.
Jaw is open and relaxed.
Tongue sits at the bottom of the mouth.
Why is oral resting posture important? Without a proper resting posture, we can lose muscle strength, impact the development of the face, jaw, and teeth, and cause delayed speech sounds, feeding, and swallowing skills. Even babies should exhibit proper resting posture in between feeds, and while sleeping.
If you notice any of the red flags above, reach out to a myofunctional therapist today.
About the Author: Melissa Goff, M.S, CCC-SLP, is the owner of Sunflower Speech & Myo Therapy, PLLC, in Charlotte, NC.
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