Recently, Little Heroes hired a new speech-language pathologist. Upon hiring her, we asked what she loves to do, as a clinician. Her first response? Orofacial myofunctional therapy. Of course, as an audiologist, I didn’t even know how to say all those words – let alone know what it means. But, since this is a service Little Heroes will we be providing, I thought I’d better look it up. This blog is a summary of what I learned!
What Are Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders?
Orofacial myofunctional disorders occur when the muscles of the face and mouth don’t do their job, impacting how children are able to make (articulate) speech sounds. Of course, we say children, because that’s the population we serve – but they can impact teens and adults, as well. I found multiple numbers indicating the prevalence of these disorders. One study (Stahl et al., 2007) said nearly 48% of children have orofacial myofunctional disorders; The American Speech-Language Hearing Association provided multiple numbers for prevalence that were based on the type of orofacial myofunctional disorder – ranging from 31% (mouth breathing) to 97% (individuals with temporomandibular disorder).
What Causes Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders?
This is where reading up on this got a little hard for me, because there was so much to learn. Causes can include thumb sucking (they call it “digit sucking” in the literature), pacifier sucking, mouth breathing, tongue ties, and craniofacial differences. Basically, many behaviors or physical differences in the mouth can cause the tongue to be displaced, which can alter how teeth grow, how the jaw opens and closes, and even how children swallow.
Are There Types of Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders?
Yes – and there are many. I don’t want to report misinformation. So, let me refer to this study I found by Thijs and colleagues (2020), which has a great break-down in the introduction of their paper.
What Can Our Speech-language Pathologist Do to Help?
Depending on the cause of the orofacial myofunctional disorder, our new SLP can help your child learn new ways to manipulate their tongue and create improved mouth postures that support clearer articulation. Once our new SLP arrives, I’ll have her write a whole blog on some intervention techniques she uses. But, in the meantime, one important thing you can do at home is try to eliminate what’s called non-nutritive sucking. Non-nutritive sucking is what I mentioned before about thumb sucking and pacifier sucking. Of course, it’s normal for infants to engage in these behaviors. However, it can really cause issues when these behaviors persist beyond early toddlerhood (when teeth start growing!). Beyond reaching out to our new SLP, you can also talk to your dentist about some tips and tricks to use at home.
We are excited to offer these new services for orofacial myofunctional disorders. Call today to schedule your appointment with Ms. Katie! (801) 996-7510