Why Your Child May Need Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy 

As a parent, you want the best for your child, especially when it comes to their speech, swallowing and overall development. If your child is receiving articulation therapy but still struggles with certain sounds or experiences difficulty with feeding, breathing, or oral habits, they may benefit from Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT).

What is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT)?

OMT focuses on strengthening and retraining the muscles of the face and mouth to function properly. These muscles play a critical role in speech development, nasal breathing, chewing and swallowing, and overall oral and dental health.  Additionally, challenges with functionally coordinating the muscles of the face can impact articulation progress and lead to lingering speech errors and sometimes prolonged time in speech therapy.  

How Does OMT Support Articulation Therapy?

While articulation therapy helps a child learn the correct placement and movement for speech sounds, OMT targets optimal mobility and resting posture of the lips, cheeks, tongue, and jaw needed for clear and consistent speech. Some common reasons a child may need OMT alongside articulation therapy include:

✅ Persistent Speech Sound Errors: If your child continues to struggle with sounds like “s,” “z,” “sh,” “ch,” or “r”, it may be due to incorrect tongue placement or weakness in the oral muscles, especially the tongue. OMT helps improve muscle coordination and stability, making speech therapy more effective.

✅ Mouth Breathing & Open Mouth Posture: Children who primarily breathe through their mouth instead of their nose often develop weaker orofacial muscles, which can impact speech clarity, tongue position, and even facial growth. OMT helps retrain nasal breathing and proper oral rest posture. Nasal breathing is vital to lung function, immunity, cleansing and warming the air for absorption, increasing cognitive function, and improving sleep.

✅ Tongue Thrust & Swallowing Issues: If your child pushes their tongue forward when swallowing (tongue thrust), it can interfere with speech production and will impact teeth alignment. OMT works to place the tongue in the optimal position to swallow.

✅ Thumb Sucking & Oral Habits: Prolonged thumb sucking, pacifier use, or other oral habits, such as biting nails and other objects, can alter tongue position and muscle development, making it harder for a child to produce speech sounds correctly.  When a child’s mouth is open during oral habits, changes in tongue position, dental alignment, and nasal breathing are impacted.  OMT helps eliminate these habits and restore optimal muscle function.

Why Combining OMT with Speech Therapy Works Best

When speech sound errors stem from muscle dysfunction, simply practicing sounds in articulation therapy may not be enough. By incorporating OMT, your child can build the muscle strength, coordination, and proper oral posture needed for long-term speech success—leading to faster progress and more lasting results.

If you suspect your child may benefit from OMT, talk with your speech-language pathologist. A combined approach could be the missing piece to helping your child achieve clearer speech and better overall oral facial development!