The Speech and Language Connection

30/09/2025

Research by Gick (2017) and Lui (2023) shows that when we speak, the sides of the tongue usually stay in active contact with the palate and molars – this is called 'tongue bracing'. And this is a universal, active strategy across languages that provides stability for clear speech sounds.

👉 But what if a child isn’t bracing their tongue?
This can contribute to reduced intelligibility in connected speech (though of course, there are many possible factors).

So why might the tongue not be braced?
If other oral functions (like swallowing and breathing) don’t use the lateral tongue margins for stability, the child has no reason to suddenly recruit them for speech. Structural or sensory differences may make it harder to achieve or maintain this tongue contact. Oral habits, lack of strength and precision of the oral muscles, alongside other factors, can interfere with developing a stable bracing posture.

💡 This is where myofunctional therapy becomes so valuable. It allows us to explore how breathing, swallowing, and tongue rest posture all interact with speech – and to address the underlying oral functions that may be limiting stability such as low tongue rest posture with mouth breathing or tongue thrust swallow. Combined with our SLT expertise, we can better understand and support each child’s unique needs.

👉 Parents – If you’re curious about how myofunctional therapy could support your child’s speech and oral function, get in touch with us at The Speech and Language Connection – we’d love to help.
👉 SLTs - If you’re interested in exploring whether tongue bracing and oral functions could be impacting on the speech progress of children on your caseload, get in touch!

enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com



Gick, B., Allen, B., Roewer-Després, F., & Stavness, I. (2017). Speaking tongues are actively braced. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60(3), 494–506. https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_JSLHR-S-15-0141

Liu, Y., Tong, F., de Boer, G., & Gick, B. (2023). Lateral tongue bracing as a universal postural basis for speech. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 53(3), 712–730. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025100321000335

22/09/2025

🌟 We’re thrilled to see Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy gaining recognition on mainstream platforms like the Good Morning Show. 🛌✨ It's crucial to raise awareness about the impact of sleep quality on our daily lives. If you snore, it’s often more than just a nuisance – it's a signal that your body needs attention.

At our clinic, we provide tailored Orofacial Myofunctional assessments that include, but also go beyond simple muscle exercises. Snoring has complex root causes, and we work with a multidisciplinary team to help you understand and address them all. From airway size and nasal breathing to issues like tongue tie and soft palate problems, we consider every factor to improve your sleep and overall health.

Let’s work together to unlock better sleep!

18/09/2025

A great post from the breathe institute!

The tongue plays a vital role in shaping the way our face and airway develop. By understanding these connections, we can optimize growth, breathing, and long-term health.

📍 Join us this October for our Breathe Course — live in Los Angeles and live-streamed worldwide.
👉 Learn more and register at www.breathecourses.com

17/09/2025

What an incredible milestone!

Just over a week ago, we held the very first conference of the Society of Dentofacial Growth and Function (SDGF). The atmosphere was filled with energy, collaboration, and forward-thinking as we came together to explore how a truly multidisciplinary approach can transform the future health and wellbeing of children.

We welcomed international speakers who shared inspiring presentations, sparking conversations that will continue well beyond this event. It’s amazing to see how fast our community is growing, united by one mission: to improve children’s health and function by working together across professions.

I’m proud to serve on the board of the SDGF and to be part of this movement that is already making waves in how we think about children’s growth, development, and long-term health.

This is just the beginning — and the energy in the room made it clear: when we connect across disciplines, amazing things happen.

19/11/2023

Myofunctional Therapy is a fascinating field that enhances our Speech and Language Therapy practice. It has opened our eyes to a more holistic view of our clients so we can now see the speech, language or communication challenge in the context of a whole body, whole system, whole child. It has provided us with so many answers to allow us to address the root causes to the challenges that our clients present with. It has taken years of study, international mentorship and training, and we will never stop advancing our knowledge. We are now one of only a handful of Speech and Language Therapists in the UK who have these skills.

The purpose of our Facebook posts is to share this knowledge with parents and other professionals, with the hope that all children can get the tailored assessment and treatment that they deserve.

If you are interested in learning, we want to share our knowledge with you. Contact us for information on mentoring and education, for parents and Speech and Language Therapists, at enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com

16/11/2023

Many recent studies are recommend that Speech and Language Therapist’s need to be screening for sleep difficulties. They identify that children with language, social and communication needs have a higher frequence of sleep disordered breathing, sleep apnea and sleep difficulties. For example, Karen Bonuck (2021) states, ‘Integrating sleep problem screening and education into speech-language pathologist practice is feasible and could widen surveillance of both sleep problems and risk factors for developmental language disorders'.

With our experience in Myofunctional Therapy, we know how to identify and treat sleep challenges as part of a multidisciplinary team. If you are interested in learning, we want to share our knowledge with you. If you are a Speech and Language Therapist, contact us for information on mentoring and education at enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com

12/11/2023

Multiple studies are now showing that children with language and communication disorders show more sleep problems than their typical peers. Furthermore, these children with language challenges can present with specific breathing difficulties that prevent them from accessing the deep restorative sleep they need for learning and development.

Many of these studies are recommending that Speech and Language Therapists should be screening for sleep disordered breathing and sleep difficulties as part of a comprehensive language and communication assessment.

Here at the Speech and Language Connection, we stay abreast of current research to drive our assessment and treatment techniques. With our experience in Myofunctional Therapy, we know how to identify and treat sleep challenges as part of a multidisciplinary team, for positive impacts on language, attention and learning.

Contact us at enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com

09/11/2023

A powerful and thought provoking quote from Steve Carstensen, expert in dental sleep medicine, made during a presentation from The American Academy of Physiological medicine and Dentistry

The airway is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children to support their sleep, oral functions, attention, cognitive development and overall health.

If your child is mouth breathing, has trouble sleeping, or difficulties with sleep, learning, growth - we can help. We will identify the root cause of their feeding, speech and language challenges as we assess your child from the Speech and Language Therapy and Myofunctional Therapy perspectives.

enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com

Image from: Eslam et al (2017) Angle Orthod. Jan; 87(1): 159–167

05/11/2023

A powerful video by Dr Bill Hang (FaceFocused Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics) showing what happens to airway and facial growth when we take out teeth and retract teeth to make them straight. Opposed to building the face, growing the face forward, to grow an airway and develop the intraoral space to optimise breathing, sleep, chewing, swallowing and speech functions.

We can promote a child's facial growth and optimise their speech, chewing swallowing and sleep for positive impacts on their attention and language development. Contact us at enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com

02/11/2023

Dr Scott Solomons ((functional dentist, https://drscottsolomons.com/) explains that the 'Bolton tracings' allow us to assess the expected craniofacial development of children: 'The photographs of an 18 year old feature the Bolton tracings overlaid on them. The version on the left represents ideal growth, the one on the right is more typical of modern faces. As you can see, the jaws are underdeveloped, and the face is long.'

Our faces are no longer growing to optimise our oral functions due to changes in our epigenetics (modern behaviours and environment affecting our genetic potential for growth).

We need enough space for the tongue to move in the mouth for optimal chewing, swallowing and speech function. We need children’s faces to grow forward to develop an airway to optimise their breathing and sleep. Look back at my Facebook posts to see the impact of poor craniofacial growth on a child’s sleep, underpinning ADHD, affect on speech sound production and see upcoming posts identifying the link between sleep and language disorders.

So how do we know what facial growth to expect? Dr Scott Solomons explains that the ‘Bolton study,’ ‘took approximately 6000 children from one to eighteen years old, from 1930 to 1959. Initially, the children were seen every three months until they were one, every six months until five years, and then every year through adolescence. Over the years, radiographs were taken of the same individuals annually, to determine how the body grows.’ The Bolton tracings created from the study provide a graphic representation of the ideal dentofacial growth at different ages and this is still used in functional dentistry today.

We know how to promote optimal facial growth for your child so they can reach their functional potential. Please contact us at enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com

29/10/2023

Research and our clinical experience shows us that there are negative impacts on the growth and development of a child’s oral structures when there are prolonged oral habits, such as a high narrow palate (roof of the mouth), open bite (gap between front teeth), overjet (front teeth protrude outward), crossbite (a misalignment of the teeth, in any part of the mouth, resulting in the upper teeth fitting inside the lower teeth).

These habits also affect a child’s oral functions. They develop a low forward tongue rest posture often with mouth breathing, a tongue thrust pattern (where the tongue moves anteriorly) when swallowing and speaking.

See references from previous post.

Children can be helped to eliminate their sucking habits in a positive way with specialist techniques. We need to be mindful that there is often a reason for these habits, which need to be addressed as part of a carefully planned treatment programme.

enquiries.speechconnection@gmail.com