TONGUE-JAW DISSOCIATION AND ITS IMPORTANCE

IN ARTICULATION ERRORS

There is very little information on the internet or in speech

therapy literature about tongue-jaw dissociation; however, I
have found that this is a foundational skill that so many
students with /r/, /l/, /th/, and a frontal lisp for /s/ and /z/
seem to lack. This is something I dive deeply into during an
oral-motor exam, because if they are unable to move their
tongue independently from their jaw, they are going to have a
difficult time imitating and generalizing these particular
speech sounds.

I also found it difficult to come up with homework activities

for kids or parents who wanted something to work on at home
if the student is not yet able to imitate the sound in isolation.
Although there are conflicting studies about whether or not
oral-motor exercises work for articulation difficulties, the
general consensus is that if they are speech-sound based,
they can be helpful. These activities are all speech-sound
based and are easy for kids to practice for a few minutes at
home. They are in the format of homework assignments so
that they can do something at home while the rest of their
speech group, who may be more advanced than they are in
their therapy program, have homework assignments to
practice. I hope you enjoy these as much as my students
have! There are pictures included to help them.

Created by Beth Lundberg, M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Not for publication or distribution.

 Tongue-jaw dissociation practice activity #1

Sit in front of a mirror. Using a tongue depressor or clean nail file the size
of a tongue depressor, place it in a vertical position (so that it is up and down
and not flat), open your mouth and place it just a teeny bit inside, between
the top and bottom teeth OR you can put it down one side of your molars,
from front to back (especially if you don’t have your top or bottom front
teeth!).  Bite down gently.  This will keep your mouth in an open position and
prevent it from closing as you say the following sounds:  “la-la-la-la-la”, “ta-
ta-ta-ta-ta”, “da-da-da-da-da”, “na-na-na-na-na”.  The /l/, /t/, /d/, and /n/
are all considered “lingua-alveolar” sounds… sounds made by the tip of the
tongue going up to the alveolar ridge (behind the front top teeth).  By doing
this, you are making your tongue learn to work on its own without your chin
(or jaw) being in charge of it, since you are not letting your jaw close up as
your tongue makes these sounds!  

Student Name: __________________

Parent Helper: ___________________

Date: ________________

FRONT or SIDE

Created by Beth Lundberg, M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Not for publication or distribution.

 Tongue-jaw dissociation practice activity #2

Sit in front of a mirror and start with your mouth open wide. 
With your mouth already open, try to raise your tongue up to
make an “eeeeeee” sound without letting your teeth close up. 
If you can do this, also try “la-la-la-la-la”, “ta-ta-ta-ta-ta”,
“da-da-da-da-da”, and “na-na-na-na-na”.  Do not let your chin
(jaw) close up! Work really hard to make your tongue work
alone. It’s so used to your chin doing all of the work, so it’s
time for your tongue to do some of it too! 

Student Name: __________________

Parent Helper: ___________________

Date: ________________

Created by Beth Lundberg, M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Not for publication or distribution.

 Tongue-jaw dissociation practice activity #3

Sit in front of a mirror. Hold the “eeeeeee” sound and then

open up your mouth slowly. If the sides of your tongue don’t
stay up touching your top molars, the sound will turn into a
short “a” sound, like in the word “hat” or a long “a” sound, like
in the word “hay” when your mouth opens up.  This might be
very hard, but try to keep the sides of your tongue up and
keep the “eeeeeee” sound going while you open up your mouth. 
Tell your tongue it has to work hard to stay up on the ceiling,
like a balloon full of helium!

Student Name: __________________

Parent Helper: ___________________

Date: ________________

Created by Beth Lundberg, M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Not for publication or distribution.

 Tongue-jaw dissociation practice activity #4

Sit in front of a mirror. Put your finger on your chin to help

steady it, stick out your tongue, and wiggle it back and forth
slowly while keeping your chin from moving side-to-side.  If
your chin is moving, you’ll see your finger moving too! When
you can do this slowly without your finger wiggling, begin to
speed up the movements of your tongue, but slow it back down
if your chin starts to move! Learn to feel your tongue moving
by itself.

Student Name: __________________

Parent Helper: ___________________

Date: ________________

RIGHT! WRONG!

Created by Beth Lundberg, M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Not for publication or distribution.