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Oral Aerobics

ORAL AEROBICS has been used successfully from Donguei University in South Korea, Honolulu / Hawaii, across the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, and Africa.

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ORAL AEROBICS is divided into three segments.  The first half of the tape includes ten lip exercises, followed by eleven tongue exercises, and completed with the steps and process of correct swallowing.  The exercises can be used individually or collectively, depending upon the person's skill level or need. 

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Download a demo of ORAL AEROBICS

  
       
   

RealVideo: 1.3MB

  
   

 
 
           
  Each exercise is named before the demonstration, affording the patient or therapist the opportunity to return to or repeat any of the exercises.  Each exercise is performed at an average speed with some demonstrated at a slower, then faster pace.  The patient is instructed to stay with the music if he/she can.  The objective is to perform the movements, as any exercise is better than no exercise at all.   
       
 

PURPOSE

  
     
  ORAL AEROBICS is a convenient twenty-seven minute professionally taped color video of lip and tongue exercises performed to dynamic music.  This is a unique multipurpose treatment tool for speech and language therapy with young children to adults in instructional and personal settings.

ORAL AEROBICS has been developed to:

  1. rehabilitate and instruct those in need of lip and tongue exercises
  2. determine diagnostically the capabilities of the patient
  3. monitor progress
  4. prevent the development of improper positioning and placement of the lips and tongue, as in familial problems
  5. provide motivation
  6. strengthen in speech musculature
  7. make monotonous drills fun
  8. train parents and paraprofessionals
  9. teach prospective therapists

ORAL AEROBICS is easily transportable, simple to use, highly motivational for depressed and distressed patients and an entertaining way to practice.

  
     
 

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INTENDED POPULATION

  
     
  ORAL AEROBICS is useful for clients and students of all ages who need rehabilitative therapy for:
  • Articulation - frontal and lateral lisps, distortions of any lip and tongue sounds, cluttering, and lingual coordination.
  • Apraxia - disorders with motor involvement and positioning of the speech mechanisms.
  • Aphasia - stroke and head trauma.
  • Auditory Impairments - for use with speech and speech reading.
  • Dysarthria - neurological disorders of the speech mechanism.
  • Myofunctional Therapy - tongue thrusting and reverse swallowing.
  • Dysphagia - sucking, chewing, and swallowing impairments.
  • Cleft Palate - Orofacial disabilities.
  • Fluency Disorders - cluttering, stuttering.
  • Foreign Accents

ORDER OF LIP EXERCISES: Hide and Peek, Lip Pops, Lip Smacks, Happy Face Pucker, Smile and Smirk, Smile and Frown, Open Says Me, Pout Puss, Funny Face, Follow The Leader

ORDER OF TONGUE EXERCISES: Teeth Sweep, Tongue Stretch, Up and Down, Elevator, Lick the Lips, Roof Licks, Up and Chew, Push Ups, Ball Toss, Monkey Mouth, Tongue Clicks

SWALLOWING STEPS

ORAL AEROBICS is excellent as:

  • an introduction of how the lips and tongue move during speech
  • a "warm-up" at the beginning of therapy sessions, "cool-down" at end
  • an instructional tool
  • a motivator
  • a means of allowing for individual needs and levels of ability during therapy or at the patient's home
 
     
 

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APPLICATIONS

  
     
  Home: as an entertaining way to improve, practice, and carry over therapy goals and involve other family members.

School: in therapy or the classrooms to instruct and demonstrate lip and tongue movements and strengthen musculature.

Hospital: played for and followed by patients who are bedridden or during rehabilitation.

Orthodontist Office: in waiting rooms to demonstrate correct movements and strengthen musculature and placements of the tongue and lips for myofunctional therapy support.

College: in classroom to demonstrate and instruct future therapists on the "why" and "how to do" lip and tongue exercises.

Private Practice: in waiting rooms before, then during, after therapy, and as a reinforcer at home.

Rehabilitation Center, Camp, Residential Placement, Nursing Home: as a productive recreational device in addition to therapy for sucking, chewing, swallowing, speech and language processing, and auditory/hearing disorders.

  
     
 

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ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

  
     
  1. All or part of ORAL AEROBICS can be used to stress certain exercises by stopping the videotape, or used when time is brief.

2.ORAL AEROBICS can help to improve precision and control of lips and tongue, for those who use the blade of the tongue in speech, or those who need to acquire speed for neuromuscular integration and facilitation.

3. ORAL AEROBICS can be used to determine how well the patient receptively understands the exercise, following in correct sequence.

4. Clients can select their favorite exercises once they determine which are easy or difficult for them to do.

5. This can be used with earphones, to avoid disturbing others or to focus attention for auditory deficits.

6. The hearing impaired can follow ORAL AEROBICS and the musical vibrations to become more aware of their speech musculature and how to move their lips and tongue to produce better speech sounds.  It may enhance speech reading instructions that may be important for severely auditory-impaired.

7. The blind may benefit auditorily.

  
 

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HISTORY

  
       
  ORAL AEROBICS developed as the result of Jackie Dickson working on speech articulation with a school youngster who needed myofunctional therapy to retrain muscular patterns.  The student was a thumb sucker, mouth breather with an open over-bite, crooked teeth, tongue thrust and reverse swallow.  She compensated for her speech problem but did not respond to 3 years of orthodontic intervention.  Maxillofacial reconstructive surgery seemed too drastic to the family.  They selected tongue thrust therapy.  In order to motivate her for the necessary consistent exercising, "ORAL AEROBICS" as a prototype was conceived and the results were astounding.  
     
  Since then ORAL AEROBICS has been used successfully for articulation (speech problems), Apraxia (positioning of the speech mechanism), Aphasia (strokes and head trauma), Auditory impairments (speech reading awareness and auditory processing), Dysarthria (Neurological disorder of the speech mechanism), Myofunctional disorders (tongue thrust / reverse swallowing), and Dysphagia (chewing, sucking, swallowing).  
     
  ORAL AEROBICS has been used successfully from Donguei University in South Korea, Honolulu / Hawaii, across the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, and Africa.  
 

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