For tongue strength, put a dab of peanut butter in the roof of the child’s mouth.Put peanut butter on whatever speech tool you’re using to increase oral acceptance.You can also use anything sticky like nutella, marshmallow fluff, etc.

You can also place a cheerio on the back of the tongue as a tactile cue for back of the tongue elevation.Instruct the individual to hold it there with his tongue. I like to use the Fine Tip to make this easier – place a cheerio on the end of the Fine Tip and touch it to the alveolar ridge.The cheerio acts as a tactile cue and an incentive for tongue tip elevation. Have him hold it there for as long as he can, working up to 30 seconds. Have the child touch the cheerio to his alveolar ridge (the roof of the mouth right behind the upper front teeth). Place a cheerio on the tip of the tongue.I always have a zip-loc of cheerios in my speech bag. Relax and repeat 3 times, then move to the other cheek.Ī must-have for my therapy sessions. Instruct the child to tighten his cheek around it. For cheek strength: put a lollipop in the cheek area.For cheek awareness: rub the lollipop inside the cheek area on both sides.For tongue and jaw dissociation: have the child stick out his tongue to touch the lollipop (without touching the teeth or lips).Have the child lick it off both corners and then repeat to get the tongue moving from side to side. For tongue lateralization: rub the lollipop in one corner of the mouth and then in the other.This is a great way to get the tongue moving AND to practice removing food particles from the lips. Have the child lick the taste off with his tongue (not the lips). For tongue movement: rub the lollipop around the lips so that they’re sticky.Instruct the child to push against the lollipop with his tongue for resistance. For tongue strength, gently press the lollipop onto the surface of the tongue.For tongue awareness: gently press the lollipop onto the surface of the tongue and release.Instruct the individual to purse the lips for a kiss, then slide the kiss over to touch the lollipop. For lip movement and lip closure: hold the lollipop just in front of the lips and off to one side.

Have the child purse his lips to kiss the lollipop.

For lip extension: hold the lollipop just in front of the mouth.

To increase the difficulty, have him squeeze and hold for 3 seconds. For lip strength: have the child round his lips around the lollipop and squeeze.The Z-Vibe is a vibratory oral motor tool that helps increase focus and draw more attention to specific parts of the mouth, and the Popette Tip is an adapter that lets you use it with lollipops, Toothettes, or DentaSwabs. But for my kids who have sensory integration issues, I like to use the Z-Vibe with the Popette Tip for additional tactile and proprioceptive input. You can use always use lollipops on their own. Too many options can be overwhelming, but two choices is just enough to give them some control over the situation and to let them have a more active role in what we’re doing. And as you can see from the list of ideas and activities below – very versatile! I give my kids two flavor options and let them pick one to work with. They’re not too big, not too small, but just the right size. Most brands will do, but Dum Dums are my favorite.

Z vibe activiites for oral motor