Tongue Thrust & Accent Reduction

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TONGUE THRUST 

A tongue thrust is a type of orofacial myofunctional disorder (OMD). With OMD, the tongue moves forward in an exaggerated way when speaking or swallowing. The tongue of the child may either lie too far forward during rest or may protrude between the upper and lower teeth during speech and swallowing. During infancy, a tongue thrust swallow is normal but should deserve and disappear as the child grows. 

As a result of an OMD, children will produce various sounds incorrectly like /s/,/z/,"sh","ch', and "j". These will sound differently when produced by a child with OMD. Additionally, the sounds /t/,/d/,/n/ and /l/ may be produced incorrectly because of weak tongue tip muscles. However, sometimes speech may not be affected for a child with OMD. 

A OMD diagnosis is made by a team of professionals include the child, the family, a dentist, an orthodontist, a physician and a speech-language pathologist (SLP). Dentists and orthodontists will be involved in the child's tongue causes constant pressure against the teeth and therefore, interferes with normal tooth eruption and alignment of teeth and jaws. Physicians will ensure that the child does not have a blocked airway and speech therapists will treat the effects of OMD on speech, swallowing and rest postures. 

Speech therapists with experience will treat and evaluate open-mouth posture, speech sound errors and swallowing disorders. Following, the speech therapist will provide a treatment plan to improve the child's oral posture and articulation. If the tongue causes a difficulty in swallowing for the child, the speech therapist will work on that as well. 
What treatment is available for individuals with OMD?

At KidsCare, speech and swallowing problems will be treated using various techniques. These include increase the awareness of the mouth and facial muscles, tongue postures, improving muscle strength and coordination, and improving speech productions. If needed, improving swallowing patterns will also be targeted. 

If a physician finds a blocked airway due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids or allergies, then speech treatment will be postponed until medical treatment is completed.

OMD may be caused by: 

1. allergies: children with allergies will have more difficulties breathing through the nose because of a blocked nasal airway, causing them to breath with their mouth open. These will cause problems with the functioning of the face muscles and mouth. 

2. enlarged tonsils or adenoids: this too will cause children to breath with open-mouth

3.family heredity: this will help in determining the size of the child's mouth, the arrangement and number of teeth, and the strength of the mouth and facial muscles. 

4. excessive thumb or finger sucking, lip and fingernail biting, lip picking, and teeth clenching and grinding: all of these may affect the shape of the child's upper and lower jaw and teeth which will require dental and speech intervention. 

ACCENT REDUCTION 

In our world today, everyone speaks with an accent. An accent in a way that speech is pronounced by a group of people who speak the same language. There are types of accents: regional and foreign. Regional accent is the particular way that a person from that place speaks. Foreign accent refers to someone who grow up speaking one language and then learned another language, however is still maintaining the accent from their first language. Accents are not a language or speech disorder and are unique to each individual. 

Some people may find difficulties when speaking with their accent as others may not be able to understand them. These people may even avoid social interactions with those that don't understand them, may feel frustrated if they need to repeat themselves. These individuals also feel as thought people are focusing on their accent more than on what you are trying to say. These factors may have negative effects on job performance, educational advancement, and everyday life activities. If there is a negative effect, some people will want to modify or change their accent. Changing your accent is possible with lots of hard work and practice. 
Accent modification or accent reduction is what is known as changing your accent. Speech therapists will work on accent reduction with non-native English speakers, speakers who want to reduce a regional accent, professionals who want to improve their communication skills and actors who need to learn a new accent for a role. 

The speech therapist will evaluate your sound pronunciation on both vowels and consonants, as well as the stress, intonation and rhythm of your speech. Treatment will focus on individual needs to focus on accent reduction.