Oral Motor Disorders – Robyn Merkel-Walsh

Oral motor skills — the coordinated movements of the lips, tongue, jaw, cheeks and soft palate — are the foundation for both feeding and speech. When oral motor development is disrupted, children and adults may experience significant challenges in communication, eating and quality of life.

Robyn evaluates and treats a wide range of oral motor disorders including:

Low oral muscle tone (hypotonia)
Dysarthria (motor speech disorder)
Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Down syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Neurodevelopmental differences (ASD, ADHD)
Facial nerve palsy
Post-stroke motor speech deficits

Treatment incorporates Oral Placement Therapy (OPT), Beckman Oral Motor, and PROMPT techniques as appropriate to the individual patient's profile.