Oral Motor, Feeding & Myofunctional Therapy

Feeding & Oral Motor Therapy

Feeding challenges in children are often secondary to early medical issues, undiagnosed tongue ties, tethered oral tissues (TOTs), unidentified muscle weakness or motor planning challenges, or underlying sensory processing deficits. The longer a child’s feeding deficits persist without intervention, the more likely that behaviors and habits will set in, causing further complications.

Our Feeding Therapy Approach

Our goal is to help your child develop a healthy, functional relationship with food, therefore our team employs a nurturing, whole-child approach.

We believe that mealtime should be a source of connection, not conflict. Unlike traditional compliance-based models, our therapy is child-led and nervous system informed.

  • Play-Based Success: We use therapeutic play to decrease oral aversions and make strengthening exercises feel like a natural part of your child’s day.
  • Safety First: We never force-feed or push the child past their limit. We build a foundation of sensory comfort first.
  • Respecting Cues: We honor your child’s no, to build the confidence they need to eventually say yes to new textures and foods.

Signs Your Child May Benefit from Oral Motor/Feeding Therapy

  • Difficulty latching or sucking as an infant
  • Difficulty transitioning to solid foods or purees
  • Does not eat a variety of foods and has a limited food repertoire
  • Mouth breathing or keeping the mouth open during the day
  • Picky eater
  • Frequent gagging, choking, coughing or spitting food out during meals
  • Limited food repertoire
  • Messy eating or difficulty keeping food inside the mouth
  • Eats too fast or too slow
  • Overstuffs mouth
  • Holds food in their mouth to long before swallowing
  • Snoring
  • Drooling

Building Strong Foundations for Safe Eating

Improving the sensory processing, strength and coordination of the lips, tongue, and jaw is the foundation for all successful feeding and swallowing. These core oral-motor components provide the groundwork to make chewing and swallowing more efficient and are critical in helping your child manage complex textures. At the CTLC, we use a variety of oral motor and feeding tools, strategies, and games to keep it fun, all while improving:

  • Lip Closure: Helps clear the utensil, keep food in the mouth, and allows for a strong seal when drinking.
  • Tongue Lateralization: Allows the tongue to move food from the center of the mouth to the teeth for chewing. After chewing, it allows the tongue to lick the sides of the lips and clean the teeth to prevent cavities.
  • Jaw Stability & Strength: Provides the power needed to break down various textures, from soft purees to steak and chicken.
  • Bolus Control & Transport: The coordination needed to gather food into a cohesive ball (bolus) using the tongue and cheeks and to move it safely to the back of the mouth without the food spreading or pocketing of food in the cheeks.
  • Oral-Sensory Processing: Helping the mouth tolerate and accurately register and tolerate different textures, temperatures, and tastes so that the motor system can do its job.

Myofunctional Therapy

Correcting Tongue Posture and Breathing Patterns for Optimal Growth and Feeding Success

Myofunctional therapy isn’t just about exercises. It’s about ensuring your child’s face and jaw develop correctly. Poor tongue posture can lead to narrowed airways and crowded teeth. By addressing these habits early, we support easier eating, better sleep, and better behavior.

Our Myofunctional Therapy Approach

Research shows how a child rests their tongue and breathes throughout their day forms the foundation for their sleep, growth, and development. We look beyond temporary fixes to address the root cause.

Our myofunctional therapy approach utilizes playful, structured exercises to reshape everyday oral habits. By teaching the muscles of the mouth to work together correctly, we guide the tongue, lips, and jaw into their optimal resting positions to support proper airway development, a confident smile, and long-term health.

  • Nasal Breathing: Transitioning from mouth breathing to healthy nasal breathing to filter out toxins and maximize oxygen intake for better sleep and focus throughout the day
  • Lip Seal: Strengthening the lip seal to ensure the mouth stays closed at rest to support nasal breathing
  • Palate Tongue Posture: Training the tongue to rest fully against the roof of the mouth, acting as a natural expander for proper upper jaw and airway development
  • Correct Swallowing Pattern: Eliminating the push of the tongue against the teeth to improve swallowing patterns and prevent orthodontic relapse and digestive issues

Signs Your Child May Benefit from Myofunctional Therapy

  • Mouth Breathing: Does your child keep their mouth open throughout the day or while watching TV?
  • Tongue Thrust: Do you see the tongue pushing forward against the teeth when they swallow or speak?
  • Messy Eating: Do they have trouble keeping food in their mouth or take very large or small bites?
  • Sleep Issues: Do they sleep with their mouth open, snore, have sleep apnea, grind their teeth, or have restless sleep?
  • Resting Tongue Posture: Does the tongue rest on the floor of the mouth instead of the roof?
  • ADHD Diagnosis: Do they have a diagnosis of ADHD or behavior problems?
  • Narrow Palate: Do they have a narrow palate/ overcrowding of teeth?
  • Speech Clarity: Are they struggling with S, Z, or SH sounds?
  • Oral Motor Challenges: Do they have difficulty moving their tongue freely in all directions while their mouth is open?
  • Dental Caries: Do they have frequent cavities?
  • Tongue Tie: Do they possibly have a tongue tie?