OROFACIAL MUSCLE THERAPY
Following an Orofacial Muscle Evaluation to determine appropriateness of therapy and establish a baseline of functional behavior, treatment would be scheduled usually for 12 to 16 sessions of about 50 minutes in length.
Myo (muscle) therapy is a type of swallowing and/or speech treatment which has been developed to correct the resting postures of the tongue, lips and mandible (lower jaw) and the incorrect swallowing pattern. The dysfunctional swallow pattern is an oral-facial disorder which, if not corrected, may result (or be accompanied by) in complex speech articulation, dental and/or orthodontic problems as well as sometimes associated with TMJ (temporomandibular joint), digestive and other physical complaints. Craniofacial development can also be affected.
The therapeutic program consists of three very important stages:
1. Muscle Training - involves numerous exercises to build up, tone and train the muscles and movement patterns necessary for the correct lingual and labial resting postures and swallow as needed.
2. Swallow Training - involves exercises so the patient can swallow correctly on a conscious level. This especially includes maintaining a closed-lip resting posture when not talking or eating.
3. Habituating the new Patterns - involves exercises for the transfer of the improved tongue and lip rest postures as well as the swallowing sequence to a completely subconscious level.
This is obtained using sequential therapeutic exercises along with a Positive Behavior Modification approach. Orofacial Myo-therapy is scheduled once a week for the first 8 weeks to address the Muscle and Swallow stages. The remaining 8 weeks are spent on the last 4 lessons Habituation Stage). At the completion of the treatment, the patient is seen for rechecks every three to six months for one year or until orthodontic treatment is completed, if applicable. If speech errors remain, additional sessions of traditional speech therapy would probably be necessary to achieve correction through the habitual conversational speech level.
IF you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Christine 719-434-0888