The Tongue Thrust Therapy Program
The premier solution for tongue thrust therapy. Through this program, the oral musculature is retrained to produce a correct and mature swallow pattern free of any tongue thrust movement or pressure. The program also teaches techniques to improve awareness of the mouth, facial muscles, and tongue muscles. As well as demonstrates techniques to improve muscle strength and coordination.
The program offers an informal assessment to help determine if a tongue thrust exists and/or the severity level of the tongue thrust. The program offers weekly session guidelines for the entire ten week program. Each weekly guideline contains multiple exercises to be taught on a consistent weekly basis. The weekly exercises come complete with descriptions, tips and tricks, and video demonstrations to ensure the exercises are taught and practiced correctly.
The program is designed to be used under the direction of a certified Speech Language Pathologist, Dentist, Orthodontist, or Orofacial Myologist. However, the program works best with parent support and home practice. In order to facilitate this support, once the program has been purchased by an appropriate professional, every parent/student/client using the program under the direction of that professional is given free access to the entire program. This type of access is unheard of and is made available in order to guarantee correct usage and success with the program.
What is a Tongue Thrust
A tongue thrust, otherwise known as an orofacial myofunctional disorder, occurs when the tongue moves forward in an exaggerated way during speech and/or swallowing. The tongue may lie too far forward during rest or may protrude between the upper and lower teeth during speech, swallowing, and at rest.
Articulation Implications
Did you know that more than 81% of children with speech and articulation disorders have been shown to have an underlying tongue thrust? A tongue thrust can delay the development of the muscles of the tongue and can interfere with the development of age appropriate speech sounds. The Tongue Thrust Therapy App program helps treat the underlying cause of these speech and articulation issues, giving children the necessary skills and foundation to develop speech sounds appropriately. The Tongue Thrust Therapy App program can be used in conjunction with traditional articulation therapy, in order to help children experience faster progress and much more success.
Dental Implications
A person typically swallows between 1,200 and 2,000 times in a 24 hour time period with more than 4 pounds of pressure each time. If a person suffers from a tongue thrust, this continuous pressure tends to force the teeth out of alignment. Many orthodontics complete orthodontic treatment with what appears to be good results, only to discover that the case relapses due to the patients tongue thrust. If the tongue is allowed to continue its pushing action against the teeth, it will continue to push the teeth forward and reverse any orthodontic work performed.