Oral motor skills refer to the skills needed for basic functions such as eating and speaking. The muscles in the mouth, jaw, lips and tongue are responsible for smiling, facial expressions, and even swallowing. We know that in order to practice these skills effectively, children need to follow basic directions involving movements of the muscles in their mouths.
Children with Apraxia of Speech, Down syndrome or craniofacial anomalies many times experience difficulties with their oral motor skills.

Smart Oral Motor is a fun and engaging application for children who need a little more entertaining when practicing their oral motor skills. Clever, the duck, provides auditory and visual cues for practicing several oral motor exercises such as:
-Puckering lips
-Making an “o” with the mouth
-Sending a kiss
-Moving tongue to sides
-Puffing cheeks
-Touching cheeks using the tongue
-Moving the tongue up and down

This application includes a total of 15 oral motor exercises, auditory information and fun animations. Parents and therapists have the ability to adjust the number of repetitions per movement as they please.

This application does not replace the need for a full evaluation by a licensed professional such as an occupational therapist or a speech therapist. Therapists will evaluate and provide full guidance on how to best use this application. If parents are working with their therapists in trying to develop a home program for their child, this can be one very user friendly and engaging resource.