An investigation of the efficacy of oral myofunctional therapy as a precursor to articulation therapy for pre-first grade children

J Speech Hear Disord. 1981 May;46(2):160-5. doi: 10.1044/jshd.4602.160.

Abstract

This study investigated the assumption that oral myofunctional services might facilitate remediation of articulation disorders. Subjects were ten 6-year-old elementary school children who exhibited both tongue-thrust behaviors and articulation errors. All subjects had equal service time for a 14-week period, half receiving articulation services only and the other half receiving oral myofunctional services prior to and in conjunction with articulation services. Results showed that children in both programs made essentially equal progress in correcting placement of tongue-tip sounds, remediating /s/ and /z/ misarticulation, and remediating general articulation errors. Only children who received oral myofunctional services remediated tongue-thrust behaviors.

MeSH terms

  • Articulation Disorders / etiology
  • Articulation Disorders / therapy*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Speech Therapy / methods*
  • Tongue Habits*