If you’ve ever taken your child to a speech therapist, you might have noticed various tools and techniques used to improve their communication skills. Among such tools, tongue depressor use is essential. You have come across it on your routine medical check-ups to have a clear view of the throat, but do you know it also has much more important uses for speech therapy?
In child speech therapy, a tongue depressor is an instrument that helps the child improve their speech clarity, movement, and articulation of the tongue. Whether your child has articulation problems, a delay in speech, or some other oral motor problem, the tongue depressor is the difference maker. Let’s take a closer look at the contribution of this humble tool to child speech therapy.
The Role of Tongue Depressors in Child Speech Therapy
Here are some of the vital reasons that show the imperative role of tongue depressor use in child speech therapy treatment.
1. Improvement in Tongue Mobility
One of the other reasons speech therapists use tongue depressors is to increase the mobility and flexibility of the tongue. If children have speech articulation difficulties, there is a need to increase the range of motion of the tongue. The therapist may softly press on the tongue with the depressor to handle it toward certain positions or elicit specific movements. Such training will help the child develop their control, which is essential for correctly pronouncing some speech sounds.
2. Strengthening the Muscles of the Tongue
Tongue depressor tools can also be used to strengthen the muscles of the tongue. However, this is mainly in cases where children have weak oral muscles, and this badly affects their speaking skills. The therapist may use the tongue depressors as resistance tools whereby the child will push against these tools with their tongue. Over time, these exercises help the child build stronger muscles, which contribute to better speech. The simple yet effective tongue depressor use for muscle strengthening makes it an ideal tool for speech therapy.
3. Pronunciation and Articulation
Some kids have problems pronouncing certain phonetic sounds, such as “L,” “R,” or “S.” The tongue depressors can be used to place the tongues of such children in the correct positions to pronounce such phonetic sounds. Therapists can also utilise it to teach a child to form the shapes necessary to articulate problematic sounds by holding the tongue in place or guiding it into set positions. It is particularly helpful in cases when children have already learned improper speech habits. Thus, it is also beneficial when a child needs to retrain their oral muscles in order to speak words correctly.
4. Inexpensive and Easily Accessible Tool
One of the biggest advantages of using tongue depressors is their inexpensiveness. While some specific speech therapy equipment can be very expensive, that is not true for this tool. It makes it very accessible to parents looking to reinforce their child’s therapy at home. With a tongue depressor price being so low, many parents can easily purchase them and practice simple exercises with their children outside of therapy sessions.
5. Oral Sensitivity Reduction
Children may be especially sensitive in the oral cavity, and this can be one big problem for speech therapy. Most of them resist any oral exercises since this makes them uncomfortable. The tongue depressor can be introduced to them gradually to help desensitise their oral cavity. Gently stroking the tongue or other parts of the mouth with the depressor will allow the therapist to make them more comfortable with oral stimuli. Thus, it helps make the therapy sessions productive.
6. Oral Placement Therapy
In this type of therapy, some tools can help a therapist make the child understand where and how to place their tongue for various sounds. Placing the tongue depressor between the upper teeth of the child and the tongue may serve as a very good physical cue. It helps indicate where the tongue should go to produce a particular sound. It is most useful for children because sometimes they need help imitating speech sounds based on auditory or visual clues alone.
7. Correcting Tongue Thrust
It is a hard habit to break the tongue, thrusting too far forward in speaking or swallowing. It may cause serious obstruction to the working out of a speech pattern. A tongue depressor may be used to retrain the correct tongue position. The therapist may inhibit thrusting on definite parts of the tongue with the depressor or may ask the child to hold his tongue in its proper position during speaking or swallowing. This tongue depressor use is highly effective in correcting speech issues related to tongue thrusting.
Let’s Conclude Here!
The simple tongue depressor is much more than a basic medical tool. Therefore, it plays a vital role in helping children overcome various speech difficulties. From enhancing muscle strength to correcting pronunciation issues, the uses of tongue depressors in speech therapy are both diverse and impactful. Parents can also take advantage of the tongue depressor price to practise at home. Additionally, it supports the progress made during therapy sessions.
However, if you are searching for a reliable platform to purchase such tools for your kids, look no further than Speech Gears. They have an extensive collection of speech therapy tools that make sure to prevent any problems that children normally face. So, do not wait any further. Visit the official website of Speech Gears to explore more helpful tools today!