Can’t Copy Facial Movements? Try This Oral Motor Practice 👦🏽💙 | Autism PT #10

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. When a child has difficulty with motor planning, even simple facial movements—like smiling or blowing the cheeks—can be surprisingly complex. These skills often require repetition, creativity, and consistent daily practice to help the child understand what their body is supposed to do. 💙 👩🏽‍👦🏽 Meet Palaash and His Mom, Nemu In this video, you’ll see Palaash, a 12-year-old with autism, working with his mom, Nemu. Palaash communicates primarily by typing on a QWERTY communication device and is not yet able to speak verbally. His parents are deeply involved in his care, and he participates in speech therapy, physical therapy, and therapeutic swim lessons. I previously worked with Palaash as his physical therapist, and it has been a privilege to continue supporting his progress over time. 🌱 🟩 What You’ll See in This Video This is Video #10 in Palaash’s series and focuses on cheek movements using the Webber Oral Motor Photo Cards. In this session, you’ll see three oral motor activities: ✔🏽 Blowing the cheeks up like a balloon ✔🏽 Smiling and showing teeth ✔🏽 Smiling with lips closed (no teeth showing) These movements can be especially difficult for children with oral motor dyspraxia due to challenges with motor planning and coordination. You’ll notice several important teaching strategies: • Using a nose clip early on to help Palaash learn to blow through his mouth instead of his nose—and then fading that support over time • Modeling each movement clearly before and after practice • Using singing and playful cues to help trigger a natural smile • Practicing daily (often 1–3 times per day) to build consistency You’ll also see a classic motor planning pattern—Palaash “scrolling” through multiple movements as he tries to find the correct one. This is very common in children with dyspraxia and reflects the challenge of selecting and organizing the right movement. Some movements, like smiling on command, are still emerging. At this stage, even spontaneous or partial success is meaningful progress. This video highlights an important principle: motor learning often requires repetition, patience, and creative cueing—especially when movements are not yet automatic. 🪞💪🏾 For Parents and Therapists If you’re supporting a child who is autistic, nonverbal, or working on oral motor control, this video offers insight into: • Teaching facial movements through modeling and repetition • Using creative cues (like singing) to elicit responses • Recognizing motor planning “trial and error” as part of learning • Practicing consistently to improve performance over time • Accepting emerging and partial movements as meaningful progress 🔍 About the Oral Motor Cards I am not affiliated with Super Duper and receive no financial incentive if you click the link below. I’m sharing this resource because I used it regularly in clinical practice. 🔗 Webber Photo Oral Motor Cards https://www.superduperinc.com/webber-oralmotor-photo-cards.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqEjJtIWYTYlXkBlwZ3joZVO19q6fJQl8dmKO-CyrniYLxIbaPE 🎥 Watch Palaash’s Full Video Series 👉🏽 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjPwLKSTp9mZBxo0RujvdTYO 🌈🌐 Stay Connected 🌐 Website: [www.pediatricPTexercises.com](http://www.pediatricPTexercises.com) 📘 Facebook: Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises 📧 Email: [amysturkey@gmail.com](mailto:amysturkey@gmail.com) Please note: I cannot provide treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated. 📚 Children’s Educational Books 📘 P is for Poop and Pee Accidents https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 📘 A is for Anxiety https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V 📘 A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR 📘 C is for Cerebral Palsy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP 📘 D is for Down Syndrome https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 📘 A is for Autism https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB 📘 Professional Books for Pediatric Therapists 📗 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 📗 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 📗 Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD 🌍 Captions & Accessibility ▶️ To turn on captions: Click CC 🌐 To change caption language: Settings → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate