Oral-Motor Training/Therapy
Description: Oral-motor training involves massaging or exercising gums, lips, or facial muscles to improve articulation of speech sounds and increase or decrease the sensitivity of the mouth or face to being touched.
Examples: Kaufman Method, PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Targets), Rosenfeld-Johnson Method
Research Summary: One small study indicates that an oral-motor therapy, PROMPT, may be efficacious in establishing early language skills in nonverbal children with autism (Rogers et al., 2006). There have been no other peer-reviewed scientific studies on Oral-Motor Training or Therapy for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
Recommendations: Researchers may wish to conduct studies with strong scientific designs to evaluate Oral-Motor Therapies. Professionals should present Oral-Motor Therapies as under-researched and encourage families who are considering these interventions to evaluate them carefully.
Selected References:
- (2006). Teaching young nonverbal children with autism useful speech: A pilot study of the Denver Model and the PROMPT interventions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 1007-1024.
