Improving Speech and Eating Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Oral Motor Program
Authors: Maureen A. Flanagan
Reviewed by Maureen Bennie
Director, Autism Awareness Centre Inc.
Sensory processing difficulties are
often present with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Poor sensory
processing can affect oral motor development in children with ASD.Oral motor difficulties have an impact on eating
and speech. If a child has a limited diet, gags easily, doesn’t like having
their teeth brushed, produces a limited number of speech sounds or does not
consistently imitate or initiate words or phrases then an oral motor treatment
program is necessary.
Maureen
Flanagan’s new book Improving Speech and
Eating Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders shows how to
implement a program at home or school. Ms. Flanagan states, “Working on oral
motor skills will help expand the child’s diet, accept oral input from a
toothbrush, increase the number of sounds that are produced, and assist with
imitation and initiation of speech production.” Written for parents and
teachers, this book details techniques and activities to work on oral motor
skills and explains the reasons for working on these skills.
The book begins with a brief
overview of the sensory systems. There are definitions of high and low muscle
tone problems as they relate to speech and a brief exploration of specific
speech problems such as dysarthria and apraxia.The second chapter on the evaluation of oral motor development outlines
what is typical development and what a therapist will assess and look for
during an evaluation. This information can be helpful so that the parent,
caregiver, or teacher knows what to expect and can help them formulate specific
questions to ask.
Ms. Flanagan describes the treatment
environment, the oral motor program, and activities in an easy to follow format
accompanied by photos, tables and drawings. A parent, teacher, teaching
assistant or caregiver will be able to follow this program quite easily. Most
of the oral motor tools are inexpensive and easy to find. Some tools are around
the house like lotion, wash cloths, or lip balm. Unscented products may be the
best route to go if there are olfactory or skin sensitivities. The food
activities are divided into attributes of the food such as crunchy solids,
challenging foods to encourage chewing, foods to facilitate sucking, and foods
with a strong taste as well as foods that should be avoided in an oral motor
treatment program.
Flanagan’s incorporation of routines
into daily life is easy to do and case highlights about children of a variety
of ages offer examples of how to implement a program throughout the day. In
addition, the author does explore some complimentary therapies in a
non-judgmental way supported by case examples. She briefly outlines some ways
in which to collect data based on observation, which is a necessary step in
making sure a treatment is effective or if it needs to be changed or tweaked.
There is a comprehensive list of
references, oral-motor/eating/speech checklist, a list of materials for an oral
motor box/bag provided in the appendix, and a data collection sheet for the
oral motor program. The resources section only lists US based organizations and
companies, but it does give the reader a place to start for information.
Although
this is not an in-depth approach to oral motor difficulties, it is an excellent
place to start for people who are not speech pathologists but need some
guidance in how to work with oral motor difficulties. Ms. Flanagan explains
everything in layman’s terms and her visual support of the information and
chapter summaries make this book very user friendly. Improving Speech and Eating Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum
Disorders is a great starting point for those who need to address the area
of oral motor difficulties.
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