Oral Motor Exercises for Tongue Elevation

Many students enrolled in speech therapy are working to improve articulation of the "r" sounds. The following exercises are designed to improve tongue elevation. Raising the tongue to the palate improves the child's ability to produce a clear "r" as well as other palatal phonemes like "sh" and "ch." Students are encouraged to practice the exercises at home.

• Bite on a toothbrush as you move your tongue to different places in the mouth. Do not drop the toothbrush.
• Practice licking popsicles or pretzel sticks. Move your tongue, not the stick!
• Put peanut butter on the roof of the mouth and try to lick it off
• Put a small piece of food (cheerio, raisin, etc) on the tongue. Hold it there for 5-10 seconds. Lift the item to the hard palate (roof of the mouth).
• Click your tongue 5 times.
• Say “kkk” “ggg” a few times. Watch the back of the tongue go up.
• Brush the sides of the tongue with a toothbrush. Then raise your tongue so the sides of your tongue are spread along the top teeth. Slide your tongue back and forth against the teeth.