Articulation: Improving articulation of specific speech sounds within words.

drink yoghurt/thick-shakes through a straw, blowing up balloons).

Muscle strength in the face: Activities to increase muscle strength in the face (e.g.

Speech Therapy approaches and activities that can support the child with low muscle tone and/or their carers include:

Hard muscle work exercises/games to build strength and endurance.

Graded activities so they gradually develop a child’s strength and endurance.

Play based activities to promote longer participation.

Develop underlying skills: such as postural control, endurance and body awareness.

Fun/play: A child is more likely to persist with tasks if they are fun and play based.

Motivation: Make activities achievable and appealing for the child.:.

Gross motor activities: Increase participation in gross motor activities.

Occupational Therapy approaches and activities that can support the child with low muscle tone and/or their carers include:

Recognise and reinforce the child’s strengths.

Provide opportunities to succeed by simplifying activities.

Management strategies that support the child with low muscle tone (at preschool, school and/or home):

Preference to engage in sedentary activities.

Lack appropriate body awareness feedback.

Increased flexibility, increasing susceptibility to injuries.

Increased flexibility and movement in joints.Ĭommon difficulties often (but not always) experienced by those with low muscle tone:.

What are the common features of low muscle tone?

The use of extra energy contributes to the decrease in the child’s endurance.

On top of this, it often takes greater stimulation for the muscle to activate, which also increases the response time of the muscle and it directly influences the child’s performance abilities. As a result, the person’s muscle needs to go through a greater range of motion and, as a result, more energy is used. This means that the muscle fibers are not overlapping at an optimal level and there are fewer points where the fibers can attach and generate pull on the muscle. Low muscle tone occurs when the length of the resting muscle is slightly longer than typical. ‘Low muscle tone’ is a condition of abnormally low muscle tone, the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle.

Spoonkid face reveal