Am I ready to speak clearly? How is speech linked to behaviour ?

All Humans should have a normal default setting for their mouth and tongue while at rest. This means they should have closed lips, tongue resting on the palate (on the special spot right behind the top front teeth) and nasal breathing while they are not talking or eating. While you read this article think about how you are breathing and if your mouth is open or closed?
 
Many children in our clinic who need speech pathology or early intervention are mouth breathers. When we mouth breathe, we exhale too much CO2. Which changes the biochemistry that our brains are required to function with.
 
A sign of this, apart from an open mouth, is big dark bags under their eyes due to low levels of oxygenation. Low CO2 levels trigger our sympathetic nervous system, meaning we are in fight or flight all the time. This affects energy levels, digestion, sleep, executive functioning (including working memory and attention), emotional regulation, anxiety and low mood including depression.
 
A common reason for mouth breathing is undiagnosed large tonsils and adenoids. If they are large, then they may block the nasal passage and force mouth breathing. This in turn often changes the resting position of the tongue to hang more forward in the mouth. This often results in an interdental lisp.

Children who mouth breath at night time may sound like they are snoring. This lack of oxygen overnight is called sleep apnoea and is documented to be a contributing factor to children’s behaviour and learning difficulties. Speech pathologist will often request a referral to an ENT or sleep specialists as their speech error may merely be the tip of the iceberg.

The staff at Necessity Kids can help you to identify, refer and provide support for this very common issue.

Jenny Hill
Clinical Director / Senior Speech Pathologist