Incorrectly used by many speech therapists, oral-motor therapy uses a variety of exercises to develop awareness, strength, coordination and mobility of the oral muscles. For example it may be used to improve muscle tone of the face or to reduce tongue thrust (the protrusion of the tongue from the mouth).
Oral-motor therapy is often used as a component of feeding therapy. In this case an experienced therapist will be able to determine why a child is having difficulty in a particular area and will create an oral-motor-feeding plan individualized for the child.