Week 5
Exercise 1 - Resting Position
Duration: Any time you are at rest (not talking or eating)
Frequency: All day for 7 days
- The Spot: Put the tip of your tongue on the bumpy spot behind your top front teeth (the alveolar ridge).
- Bite Down: Bite down on your back teeth.
- Close Lips: Gently close your lips.
Tips for this exercise:
- You should be working on maintaining a correct resting position at all times during the week. Any time you are not talking or eating, your tongue, teeth, and lips should remain in the resting position. At the end of each day you should track how well you maintained the resting position. Write an "A" for "all" on the tracking sheet if you maintained the correct resting position at all times during the day. Write a "P" for "part" on the tracking sheet if you maintained the correct resting position for part of the day. Write an "N" for "none" on the tracking sheet if you did not maintain the correct resting position at all that day.
Exercise 2 - Suck and Swallow
Duration: 10 times
Frequency: 3 times a day for 7 days
- The Spot: Put the tip of your tongue on the bumpy spot behind your top front teeth (the alveolar ridge).
- Bite: Bite down on your back teeth.
- Smile: Spread your lips into a wide smile.
- Squirt: Squirt water into the corners of your mouth.
- Close Lips: Gently close your lips.
- Suck Back: Suck the water back past your teeth.
- Smile: Spread your lips into a wide smile.
- Swallow: Swallow the water making sure that your tongue does not push forward against your teeth.
- Repeat: Repeat these steps 10 times.
Tips for this exercise:
- Look at your tongue in a mirror during the entire exercise.
- Try not to let the muscles around your lips and in your chin move while you suck and swallow. Use the muscles in the back of your tongue and in your throat to swallow.
- While swallowing, your tongue should not push against or past your teeth. Your tongue should not push forward at all.
Exercise 3 - One Swallow Drinking
Duration: 15 times
Frequency: 3 times a day for 7 days
- The Spot: Put the tip of your tongue on the bumpy spot behind your top front teeth (the alveolar ridge).
- Bite: Bite down on your back teeth.
- Head Straight: Hold your head straight.
- Raise Drink: Raise the drink up to your mouth.
- Sip: Close your lips and sip the water into your mouth (without swallowing).
- Smile: Spread your lips into a wide smile.
- Swallow: Swallow the water making sure that your tongue does not push forward against your teeth.
Tips for this exercise:
- Look at your tongue in a mirror during the entire exercise.
- Make sure to bring the drink to your mouth, not your mouth to the drink.
- While swallowing, your tongue should not push against or past your teeth. Your tongue should not push forward at all.
Exercise 4 - Eating
Duration: Eat at least five different foods correctly each day
Frequency: 7 days
- Food to Mouth: Bring a piece of food up to your mouth. Do not let your tongue or lips reach out for the food.
- Bite: Bite down on your back teeth.
- Chew: Chew the food with your lips gently closed and move the food back into your mouth as you chew.
- Bolus Formation: When you have chewed the food long enough that it sticks together. Use your lips and cheeks to suck it onto the middle of your tongue forming a bolus or ball.
- Check: Check the bolus in the mirror making sure it is in the middle of your tongue and not on or near the tip of your tongue.
- The Spot: Put the tip of your tongue on the bumpy spot behind your top front teeth (the alveolar ridge).
- Bite: Bite down on your back teeth.
- Smile: Spread your lips into a wide smile.
- Swallow: Swallow the food making sure that your tongue does not push forward against your teeth.
- Check: Check to make sure you have swallowed all the food.
Tips for this exercise:
- Look at your tongue in a mirror during the entire exercise.
- Make sure to bring the food to your mouth, not your mouth to the food.
- While swallowing your tongue should not push against or past your teeth. Your tongue should not push forward at all.