Which exercises can I do myself? | Speech therapy

Which exercises can I do myself?

A successful logopedic treatment requires a lot of time and patience and is only successful if the patients show a great deal of initiative to perform the exercises at home outside of the exercise hours. In order to motivate and support the patients in performing these exercises, it is therefore very important to involve their family or important caregivers in the treatment and to train them in the correct execution of the exercises. There are many easy and quickly practicable exercises that can also be performed in everyday situations and can significantly improve the success of the therapy.

Especially with small children, the challenge is to integrate these exercises into everyday life. This can be achieved well in a playful form or in the form of small competitions. Through simple lip, tongue and blowing movements, speech, language and voice disorders can be improved quickly.

Lip exercises strengthen the muscles of the lips and tongue, prepare the formation of sounds and improve the activity of the diaphragm. All in all, they serve to prepare for speech. Simple lip exercises include drinking from a straw or blowing out a candle.

The muscles are also stimulated by holding a pen with the lips or inflating a balloon. Tongue exercises also strengthen the muscles and promote speech. For example, it is helpful to stick out your tongue and move it in different directions.

You can also walk with your tongue along the row of teeth or try to move the tip of the tongue slowly towards your nose. You can also try to roll your tongue or snap it with your tongue. When patients have a problem with pronunciation, such as when lisping, it is often helpful to practice buzzing and hissing.

This trains the perception of how the sound should normally sound. Many patients and especially small children often find it difficult to differentiate between the B and the P.This can be encouraged, for example, by using a sheet of paper. You take a sheet of paper, hold it in front of your mouth and speak words alternately with B and P, with the P making the paper move.

Breathing exercises such as holding your breath or deliberately blowing out a small amount of air slowly can also be helpful for speech and language disorders. This can be practiced at home by slowly blowing out a candle, trying to move a cotton ball by blowing alone or, especially with small children, playfully blowing soap bubbles. For patients with swallowing disorders, care can be taken at home to eat slowly and always eat small portions.

In addition, the mouth should always be kept closed when swallowing. Swallowing can be practiced well with slightly thickened food or yoghurt. Dry swallowing exercises can additionally strengthen the muscles of the throat and further promote the success of the therapy.