Teaching Lip Movement When a Child Can’t Copy 👩🏽‍👦🏽💋 | Pediatric Oral Motor PT #8

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. When a child is not yet able to perform a movement independently, learning often begins with assistance, repetition, and shared practice. For children with motor planning challenges, shaping the movement with hands-on support can help them feel and 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 #8 in Palaash’s series and focuses on early lip movements using the Webber Oral Motor Photo Cards. These movements are especially challenging for Palaash due to oral motor dyspraxia, limited strength, and reduced range of motion — particularly in the upper lip. In this session, we are not yet working on independent movement. Instead, we are helping him begin to understand and feel the motion through guided practice. You’ll see three lip activities: ✔🏽 Lip curl/closure using tongue depressors for positioning ✔🏽 “Straw hug” (upper lip activation and hold) ✔🏽 Holding a tongue depressor between the lips Nemu provides hands-on assistance to help position and shape the movement, while we focus on: • Building awareness of lip position • Practicing closure (top lip over bottom lip) • Holding the position for a count of 10 • Repeating to support motor learning At this stage, even maintaining the position briefly is a meaningful step forward. This video highlights an important principle: before a child can perform a movement independently, they often need help experiencing what the movement feels like. 🪞💪🏾 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: • Starting oral motor work when imitation is difficult • Using hands-on assistance to shape movement • Breaking skills into very early components • Building strength and awareness gradually • Supporting practice with repetition and consistency 🔍 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 📘 Facebook: Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises 📧 Email: 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