Oral Motor Exercises: Improve Soft Palate Sensations

Speech is a fundamental aspect of human connection. It facilitates social interaction, helps build relationships, and is crucial for various aspects of daily life, from education to work and personal relationships. Speech is essential for human communication, social interactions, and the expression of thoughts and emotions. To have a free flow of speech, all the parts of the mouth, including the control of airflow, contribute a lot. The soft palate or velum plays a crucial role in speech production by helping to control the airflow and resonance in the vocal tract.

When you speak, air from your lungs passes through the trachea and into the oral cavity. The soft palate can move to either close off the nasal cavity or open it up. The production of various speech sounds are an outcome of its regulation. Hence, it is important to focus on the function of the soft palate. Improving the sensations of the soft palate can increase the effectiveness of speech production. Strengthening the muscles and improving the function of the soft palate can contribute to improved speech articulation and overall oral motor control.

What is the role of soft palate in speech production?

To know about the exercises that contribute to the sensations of soft palate, it is necessary to understand the role of soft palate in speech production. Let us throw some light onto the areas where soft palate plays an important role.

Nasal resonance:

The soft palate regulates the airflow between nasal and oral cavities during speech production. Practicing exercises that improve soft palate movements can help in improving the function of controlling nasal resonance, which is essential for producing nasal sounds like /m/, /n/, and /ng/. Strengthening the soft palate can lead to clearer and more accurate production of such nasal sounds.

Articulation:

Practicing soft palate exercises can enhance the articulation capabilities of an individual. These exercises focus on improving the production of sounds that require coordinated movement between the soft palate and other articulators. By strengthening the muscles of the soft palate, an individual can achieve better control over the movements of the soft palate, leading to a clearer articulation of speech sounds and words.

Speech clarity:

For improving the speech clarity and speech quality of an individual, taking care of the soft palate is necessary. Clear and precise articulation facilitated by a well-functioning soft palate can improve the intelligibility of speech. Such clarity can help others to easily understand and comprehend what is being said by an individual.

Air flow regulation:

The soft palate is involved in regulating the airflow during speech production. This airflow regulation helps in distinguishing between nasal sounds and oral sounds. The exercises that target the soft palate improve its ability to modulate airflow, which, in turn, would control the production of various speech sounds.

Overall communication skills:

Strengthening the soft palate fosters better speech production, articulation, and nasal resonance, which results in a positive impact on the overall communication skills of an individual. Improved soft palate function can result in effective communication. As a result, better interpersonal interactions take place, enhancing an individual’s performance in social, academic, and professional settings.

How to improve the sensations of the soft palate?

The sensations of the soft palate are targeted for better speech development. Here are some techniques that can help an individual to improve the sensations of the soft palate or velum.

Velum elevation exercises:

The exercises that constantly elevate the soft palate, such as sustained Humming or vocalizing nasal consonants such as /m/, /n/, or /ng/, can be practiced to improve the sensations of the soft palate. Practicing these exercises would strengthen the muscles of the soft palate and improve the control over its movement during speech production.

Yawning exercises:

Yawning naturally involves the elevation of the soft palate. Imitation of yawning acts as an exercise; performing controlled yawning exercises can help increase muscle flexibility and promote better soft palate function.

Nasal airflow control:

Controlling the airflow through the nasal cavity and oral cavity is important in speech production. Practicing exercises to control this airflow is essential in speech development. Techniques such as alternating between breathing through the nasal cavity and mouth can help in the awareness of airflow. Practicing controlled nasal breathing can improve soft palate function. These exercises can regulate airflow during speech.

Articulation exercises:

Some specific articulation exercises, such as producing nasal sounds, involve the use of a soft palate. There are other articulation exercises that involve the coordination of the soft palate, tongue, and other articulators. All these exercises can help improve the sensations of the soft palate. Focusing on the accurate production of these sounds can help improve soft palate function and speech articulation.

Speech therapy:

A Speech Language pathologist can provide targeted exercises and techniques that are tailored to improve soft palate function in individuals. A speech and language pathologist or a speech therapist is a professional trained to improve speech production. They can offer personalized guidance and support to address specific language needs. According to the individual’s needs, speech therapists incorporate specific exercises targeting the soft palate function to facilitate effective speech development.

During the speech therapy sessions, a speech-language pathologist helps individuals produce speech sounds correctly, considering the position of the soft palate for different sounds. They may employ custom-tailored strategies to address any speech concerns that are unique to each individual. Speech therapists provide regular therapy sessions to work on targeted goals. These specific and measurable goals are formulated by involving parents and caregivers. They employ a variety of exercises to improve speech production, language comprehension, and overall communication skills. Working with a trained speech therapist is always recommended to achieve better results.