Blog Post: What Does the Tongue do for Bunched R?

Blog Post: How to Choose Bunched or Retroflex

• Sides of Tongue:
  • “Make the sides of your tongue touch your top teeth or gums.”
• Back of Tongue:
  • “The back of your tongue child be pulled back toward your throat.”
  • “Pull the back of your tongue back but not up.”
• Tip of Tongue:
  • “Lift the tip of the tongue off the floor of your mouth.” 
  • “The tip of your tongue should be pointing forward, not up or down.”
  • “The tip of your tongue should be in the middle of your mouth.”
• Middle of Tongue:
  • “The middle of your back town should scoop down but the sides of your tongue stay up.”
  • “Try to keep the middle part of your tongue low.”
• Lips:
  • “Round your lips just a tiny bit, but not too much.”
  • “Tighten the corners of your lips just a little.”
  • “Keep your lips steady.” (If they try to round for /w/.)
• Jaw:
  • “Your jaw looks clenched, try relaxing it and opening it a little bit.”
  • “Your mouth is open to wide, try closing it a little bit.”

More Resources:

• tongue anatomy boom card freebie
• favorite mouth models

• stroke sides of tongue with tool and explain that spot needs to touch the top molars – can pretend there’s “glue”
  • tongue depressor
  • lollipop
  • toothette
  • sour spray
  • fun dip
  • peanutbutter
  • nutella

• twizzler trick (video): cut twizzler in approximately 1/3, place across back of tongue and have them push up to make an “arch” and achieve tension (read more about tension)
  -twizzler alternatives (read more):
  • sour punch straws
  • slim jims
  • red vines
  • any licorice
  • silicone straws

• help the tongue retract- guide tongue back with
  • gloved hand
  • tongue depressor
  • floss pick

• pretzel sticks
  • use both to get retraction and tongue widening
  • place along molars like “railroad tracks” for the tongue to move along
  • visual included in this freebie

     

• Touch the back of the head and ask the student to pull their tongue back toward your finger

• pretend to vacuum (facilitates tongue retraction as you pull the “vacuum” back)
• cup hand, palm facing down

To get the sides of the tongue to raise:

• “Make the sides of your tongue go up like a…”: boat, bowl, taco, bird’s wings, butterfly’s wings, basket (pretend to hold an egg in the middle)

To get tongue retraction:

• “Pull your tongue bike like…”: a turtle pulls its head into its shell
• “Pretend your teeth are railroad tracks”- the sides of the tongue should connect to the upper molars/inner gums

Try these words when cueing the R:

• “sure”
• “ear”
• “Erie”
• “eureka”
• “sure”

• try laying back to let gravity help with tongue retraction (on a yoga ball, on the floor, head hanging off chair or table)