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Girl blowing bubbles to improve respiration as well as labial rounding and protrusion as part of Oral Placement Therapy.

Talk Tools’ Oral Placement Therapy (OPT)

At KidSpeak Therapy, we integrate Oral Placement Therapy (OPT)—pioneered by Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson of TalkTools—with targeted myofunctional therapy to support clear speech, strong oral-motor skills, and healthier oral habits. This combined approach is especially effective for children who benefit from tactile, visual, and proprioceptive cues, not just auditory instruction.

Oral Placement Therapy uses structured exercises and specialized TalkTools tools to build the jaw, lip, and tongue stability needed for accurate sound production. These techniques help children develop the motor patterns required for challenging sounds like /s/, /z/, /sh/, /ch/, /r/, /l/, and /k/. OPT is particularly helpful for children with oral-motor weakness, low tone, dysarthria, Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), and sensory-based feeding challenges.

Because speech clarity is closely connected to oral posture and breathing, KidSpeak Therapy blends OPT with myofunctional therapy, addressing habits such as tongue thrusting, open-mouth posture, low tongue resting posture, and inefficient chewing or swallowing patterns. Myofunctional therapy strengthens oral muscles, promotes nasal breathing, and supports healthier tongue and lip placement—all of which reinforce the precise movements targeted in OPT.

This integrated treatment approach may focus on:

  • Jaw stability and grading

  • Lip closure and rounding

  • Tongue elevation, retraction, and dissociation

  • Correct swallowing patterns

  • Nasal breathing and oral rest posture

  • Improved speech sound accuracy

By combining TalkTools-based strategies with myofunctional principles, we offer a holistic, whole-child approach that supports speech clarity, feeding efficiency, and long-term oral-facial development.

If you’re seeking Oral Placement Therapy, TalkTools speech therapy, or myofunctional therapy for kids in the Bethesda/DMV area—or via telepractice in Florida or California—KidSpeak Therapy is here to help your child build strong, coordinated oral skills for confident communication.

Check out more Kidspeak Services