How does Spot Pal support speech intelligibility?

Did you know that the tongue is one of the most important articulators in your mouth? In fact, the range of motion, strength and placement of the tongue heavily impact an individual’s speech intelligibility and ability to produce specific sounds. For example, many sounds in English such as: /t, d, n, l, s, z, sh, ch and j/ are produced by the tongue making contact with the roof of the mouth directly behind the front teeth, called the alveolar ridge.

A specific part of the Spot Pal appliance, the Spot Dot, is a small hole that sits at the appropriate place for proper production of these sounds. The Spot Dot serves as a tactile cue and reminder for the tongue tip for correct placement. The support of tongue placement improves articulatory precision of these lingual alveolar and lingual palatal sounds, assisting the user in producing these sounds more accurately.

Additionally, the Spot Pal can assist an individual who is tongue thrusting. Tongue thrusting is when the tongue moves too far forward during speech sound production or swallowing. This can cause incorrect articulatory placement thus impacting overall intelligibility when speaking. Individuals with a tongue thrust can also benefit from the Spot Pal because the Spot Dot reminds the tongue where to rest and where it should be placed during speech sound production.