Let’s break it down into steps to make these complicated words easier to understand. Once you have a deeper understanding, you will then be able to support your child or young person develop their communication skills in the best way as a Gestalt Language Processor. Remember not every child will be a Gestalt Language Processor; if your child uses echolalia and/or has a diagnosis of autism then your child’s way of processing language is most likely different to the classic way children typically learn language.
Let’s start with understanding what each of these words “Gestalt Language Processors” mean.
Gestalt: “the way a thing has been placed or put together”
Language: “a system of human communication”
Processors: “responds to and processes basic instruction”
So, let’s put those meanings together. “Gestalt Language Processors are children who process early language in strings of sounds or chunks.” They tend not to process single words.
It is important to understand this way of processing communication because between 75-90% of children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions process language in this way (Blanc, 2012). We know that it’s important for young people to have their voice heard and to be able to express themselves. So, it’s vital that they move from echolalia to self-generated communication to be able to do this. This means that our children’s communication partners play a vital role in supporting their child’s language. We can support our children by modelling phrases until the child has learnt the process themselves.
Let’s explore an example together
X (who is a gestalt language processor) and his family love to feed the ducks in their spare time; this is an activity that takes place regularly. Let’s look at how you, as the adults, could support X in his communication. Look at the phrases that are used. They are meaningful to the activity with repetition used throughout.
Top tip: You could think of an activity you and your child or young person take part in on a regular basis and brainstorm some key phrases that you could use.
Need a boost in confidence to support your child’s gestalt language processing?
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
If your child is using echolalia and/or has a diagnosis of autism, then your child’s way of processing language is most likely different to the classic way children typically learn language. We call this process Natural Language Acquisition or Gestalt Language Processing.
Step by Step guide to Gestalt Learning
Let’s explore the following stages of Gestalt Processing:
Stage 1: communicative use of whole language gestalts
(e.g., “let’s get out of here”)
Children and young people in this stage use echolalia. They need to hear more gestalts or scripts. So, your job is to model, model, model and to use functional language that your child can repeat back.
Stage 2: mitigated into chunks and re-combining these chunks
(e.g., “let’s get” + “some more”) and (e.g., “let’s get” + “out of here”)
This is when you take parts of gestalts or phrases and then combine it with other parts.
Stage 3: further mitigation (single words recombining words, formulating two-word phrases)
(e.g., “get…more”)
They are going beyond their gestalts. Furthermore, they may begin to label different objects.
Stage 4: formulating first sentences
(e.g., “let’s get more toys”)
You may see more grammatical errors during this phase as they are creating unique sentences. Please don’t worry about this, it means they are playing and experimenting with language. As communication partners, you could model the correct form of the sentence.
Stages 5 & 6: formulating more complex sentences
(e.g., “how long do you want to play inside for?”)
You can see that language learning is a process, that is trialled and tested, used in different contexts for children to be able to learn and use language appropriately.
My next blog will give you activities ideas and how you might use them specifically with a Gestalt Language Processor.
Remember early intervention is vital. So, if you have any concerns, please seek the advice of a Speech and Language Therapist.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
If your child says ‘dar’ instead of ‘star’, you might be wondering if they will simply outgrow it or if they require specialised support. While ‘cluster reduction’—dropping one of the sounds in a blend—is a normal part of learning to talk, we typically expect these sounds to lock into place by age four years. If these errors persist as a child approaches school age, it often signals a speech sound delay that may now no longer pass without help. As a Speech and Language Therapist, I specialise in helping children bridge this gap using evidence-based techniques like backward chaining.
This isn’t about constant correction; it’s about providing the right clinical scaffolding to move a child from ‘frustrated’ to ‘fluent’ before they hit those critical early school years.
Dropping sounds from words is a common feature of speech sound difficulties, and while it can look small on the surface, it can have a big impact on how clearly a child is understood. In this short video clip, I’m working with a child on an /ST/ sound cluster, demonstrating how I use an evidence-based speech therapy technique called backward chaining to help children build clearer speech with confidence.
What’s actually happening when a child drops the ‘S’?
Clusters like /ST/, /SP/, and /SK/ are tricky. They require:
precise timing
careful airflow
and the ability to blend sounds smoothly
For many children, especially those with speech sound difficulties, this is a big ask.
So instead of hearing:
‘star’
we might hear:
‘tar’ or ‘dar’
This isn’t laziness or refusal. It’s the child simplifying the word to make it manageable.
Why I don’t start by saying ‘say star’
Telling a child to ‘just add the S’ rarely works.
Instead, I meet them where they are already successful.
In this clip, the child can already say ‘dar’ clearly. That’s our starting point.
Backward chaining: building speech from success
Backward chaining means we:
Start with the part of the word the child can already say
Gradually add the missing sound
Keep the child feeling successful at every step
So rather than jumping straight to ‘star’, we:
secure the ending
gently introduce the /S/
and blend it in a way that feels achievable
This approach reduces frustration, builds confidence, and helps the sound stick not just in the therapy room, but out in the real world.
Why this matters beyond one word
This isn’t just about saying ‘star’.
It’s about:
teaching the mouth a new movement pattern
giving the brain time to organise the sound sequence
and helping the child feel capable, not corrected
When therapy feels safe and successful, children are far more likely to generalise their new sounds into everyday speech.
Speech therapy works best when children feel supported not tested.
If your child struggles with speech clarity
If your child:
drops sounds from words
avoids longer or trickier words
or becomes frustrated when they’re not understood
This is the kind of work I do every day building speech step by step, in a way that respects each child’s pace and strengths.
Support can be gentle, effective, and empowering.
If you’d like to learn more about how speech therapy can support your child, you’re always welcome to get in touch.
Sonja McGeachie
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
‘What kind of speech difficulty does my child have?’
It’s a very understandable question. We often hear different terms such as phonological delay, articulation difficulties, or Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), and it can be confusing.
The reality is that many children don’t fit neatly into one single category.
In fact, quite often I see children whose speech profile includes a mixture of difficulties. They might have some phonological patterns (where they substitute one sound for another) alongside challenges with motor speech planning, where coordinating the movements needed for speech is harder.
When this happens, therapy needs to be flexible, responsive, and tailored to the child sitting in front of us.
Example
Recently I filmed a short clip from one of my therapy sessions which shows exactly how this works in practice.
The child I was working with has difficulties with several speech sounds. Part of the challenge relates to a phonological pattern called fronting.
Fronting is when sounds that should be made further back in the mouth (like /K/ or /G/) are produced further forward instead.
At the same time, this child also shows signs of motor speech planning difficulty, which means the brain has to work harder to organise and sequence the movements of the tongue, lips and jaw for speech.
This type of profile can sometimes overlap with characteristics seen in Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS).
When difficulties overlap like this, therapy cannot rely on a single approach. Instead, it needs to draw on multiple evidence-based strategies.
That is exactly what you see happening in the clip. We started out generalising the /K/ sound which until recently had been replaced by a /T/ sound. Whilst looking at a sound loaded picture of /K/ sounds we somehow got talking about a ‘dent’ (I don’t recall how we got there!) but the ‘dent’ was a ‘det’ and I decided to tackle this there and then because there are other great words that end in ‘nt’ like : ‘count’ ‘giant’ ‘point’ or ‘paint’.
Using visual cues to support motor planning
Speech is incredibly complex. For children with motor speech difficulties, the challenge is not only knowing what sound they want to say, but also how to move their mouth to produce it.
This is where visual cues can be incredibly helpful.
In the clip, you can see me using a whiteboard with pictures and simple visual prompts. These help to:
Focus attention on the target sound
Understand where the sound occurs in the word
Remember the sequence of sounds needed
Visual supports can act almost like a map for the mouth, guiding children as they practise new speech movements.
For children with motor planning difficulties, this type of cueing can make a huge difference.
Why repetition of a single word (massed practice) is so important
Another key feature you will notice in the clip is lots of repetition.
This is very deliberate.
When we are supporting children with motor speech challenges, the brain needs repeated opportunities to practise the correct movement patterns. Just like learning a musical instrument or a new sport, repetition helps the brain build stronger and more efficient pathways.
In therapy we call this massed practice.
Rather than saying a word only once or twice, we practise it many times in a structured way, helping the child stabilise the new speech pattern.
But repetition alone is not enough. The child also needs to understand why the sound matters.
Showing children that sounds change meaning
This is where another powerful therapy approach comes in: minimal pairs.
Minimal pairs are word pairs that differ by only one sound. For example:
debt
dent
In the clip, I use these two words to help the child realise that the /N/ sound makes a meaningful difference.
Without the /N/, the word becomes something else entirely.
This approach helps children recognise that speech sounds are not random: they carry meaning. If a sound is missing or substituted, the message may change.
Helping children notice these differences can be a very motivating moment in therapy. Suddenly the sound is no longer just an abstract exercise; it becomes part of real communication.
Blending approaches for the best outcomes
In this short therapy moment, I am combining:
• Visual cueing
• Motor speech practice
• High repetition (massed practice)
• Minimal pair contrasts
• Listening and awareness of sound differences
Each element supports a different part of the speech system.
Some strategies help with motor planning, others support phonological awareness, and others build accuracy and consistency.
Together they create a therapy session that is both structured and responsive.
Every child’s speech journey is unique
One of the most important things I want to convey is that speech development is not always straightforward.
Two children may both struggle with speech sounds, yet the underlying reasons may be very different.
This is why careful assessment is essential, and why therapy needs to stay flexible as we learn more about how a child’s speech system works.
Sometimes a child needs more motor-based work.
Sometimes the focus shifts towards phonological contrasts.
Often, as in this example, the most effective therapy uses both.
Small steps lead to big progress
Every session helps us understand a little more about how a child’s speech system works and what support will help them move forward.
And when the pieces start to come together, when a child realises that one tiny sound can change a whole word, that is when the real progress begins.
If you are concerned about your child’s speech sounds, clarity of speech, or possible motor speech difficulties, early support can make a significant difference. A detailed assessment can help identify the nature of the difficulty and guide a therapy approach tailored to your child’s individual needs.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
Picture this. A small dinosaur is stomping across a wooden floor. A tiny teacup is being filled with imaginary juice. Someone, probably you, has just been told very firmly that you are the baby and you must go to sleep now.
To the outside world, this is just play. Joyful, chaotic, completely ordinary toddler play.
But for a child with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), also known as verbal dyspraxia, what is happening inside a well-designed pretend play session is anything but ordinary. It is, in fact, some of the most powerful motor speech therapy we have.
Let me explain why.
First, a quick reminder: what is dyspraxia?
Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. The difficulty does not lie in the muscles of the mouth, those are perfectly capable. The difficulty lies in the brain’s ability to plan and sequence the precise movements needed to produce speech sounds consistently and accurately.
A child with CAS knows what they want to say. The message is there. But somewhere between the intention and the execution, the plan breaks down. Words come out differently each time, or not at all. It is effortful, unpredictable, and for many children, deeply frustrating.
What this means for therapy is important: CAS requires motor learning, not just language stimulation. And motor learning has very specific conditions under which it thrives.
Repetition is the medicine and pretend play delivers it without the child noticing
One of the most well-established principles of motor learning is that new movement patterns need to be practised many, many times before they become reliable. Think of learning to ride a bike, or to touch-type. Repetition is how the motor system builds consistency.
For speech, this means a child needs many opportunities to attempt a target word or phrase within a single session. In a formal drilling exercise, this quickly becomes tedious and dysregulating, especially for young children. After five attempts at ‘go’, most three-year-olds have mentally left the building.
But inside a pretend play scenario? The word ‘go’ appears naturally and meaningfully dozens of times. The car goes. The train goes. Ready, steady, go. Go to sleep. Go there doggie. Every repetition is embedded in a moment that makes sense to the child, which means they are motivated to keep going, and the practice is accumulating without any sense of effort or demand.
A relaxed brain learns better
There is a reason I tend not to sit a dyspraxic child at a table with flashcards and ask them to repeat after me. It is not because I lack structure. Every session I run has clear targets and intentional design. It is because we know that anxiety and pressure actively interfere with motor learning.
When a child feels observed, corrected, or under pressure to perform, the cognitive load increases and the very motor planning system we are trying to support becomes less accessible. The errors increase. The frustration escalates. The session unravels.
Pretend play, by contrast, creates a state of engaged, relaxed absorption. The child is leading. They are safe. They are having fun. In this state, the brain is far more receptive to new motor patterns being laid down. I am not asking the child to perform speech. I am simply being present, following their lead, and slipping in carefully chosen models at exactly the right moments.
Child-led play gives us the child’s own words to target
Another reason pretend play works so beautifully for children with dyspraxia is that it tells us exactly which words matter most to this particular child, right now, today. When a child reaches for the toy telephone and hands it to me with enormous expectation, I know that ‘hello’ is a word worth targeting in this moment. When they are clearly trying to tell me that the baby needs feeding, ‘more’ and ‘eat’ have instant, genuine relevance.
Targeting words a child is already motivated to say means the communication attempt is coming from them. And a self-initiated attempt, even an approximation, is neurologically far more valuable than a prompted imitation.
What this looks like in practice
In the short video clip below you can see this dynamic in action. Notice how the session looks relaxed and playful on the surface. The child is absorbed in the pretend play scenario we have created together.
Notice, though, what is happening underneath:
the consistent, gentle modelling of target words
the use of Makaton signs alongside speech to provide an additional sensory pathway
the visual mouth cues that give the child a roadmap for how a sound is shaped
and running through all of it, the repetition. The same words, again and again, wrapped in play.
This is not therapy disguised as play. It is therapy that is play, because for a child with dyspraxia, those two things are not in opposition. They are, in fact, perfectly aligned.
If you are concerned about your child’s speech and wondering whether verbal dyspraxia might be a factor, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I would love to help you find some answers.
Sonja McGeachie
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
As a Speech and Language Therapist specialising in infant feeding, I often hear from worried mums describing their breastfed baby’s fussiness. ‘My baby is so burpy and gassy,’ ‘might it be reflux?’ or ‘she just seems uncomfortable after every feed’. While these concerns are incredibly valid and distressing for both baby and mum (and dads!), the underlying cause isn’t always what you might think. Often, the culprit isn’t primarily a digestive issue, but rather a mechanical one: how effectively your baby is managing air during feeding.
Many parents are told their baby has ‘colic’ or ‘reflux’ and are offered solutions that don’t quite hit the mark because they overlook a fundamental aspect of feeding: the suck-swallow-breathe sequence. Understanding this intricate dance can be the key to unlocking a calmer, happier feeding experience for your baby and you.
Understanding the suck-swallow-breathe sequence
Your baby’s mouth, tongue, jaw, and throat muscles work together in a precise rhythm like a beautifully orchestrated symphony. First your baby draws milk, then swallows it, and then takes a breath, all without interruption. This is the ideal suck-swallow-breathe (SSB) sequence.
When the SSB sequence functions optimally, a baby latches deeply, creates good suction, draws milk, swallows efficiently, and then pauses just long enough to take a gentle breath before the next suck. This smooth, coordinated process minimises the amount of air swallowed.
However, for various reasons (it could be a shallow latch, oral motor challenges, an uncoordinated suck, or even an overly fast milk flow) this sequence can get a bit out of sync. Instead of a smooth rhythm, you might see:
Suck-suck-swallow-gasp!: Too much air pulled in with the swallow.
Rapid, shallow sucking followed by gulping: Inefficient milk transfer and air intake.
Clicking noises during feeding: Loss of suction, indicating air entry.
Frequent detaching and re-latching: Often to ‘catch a breath’ or because of discomfort.
Each of these patterns can lead to increased air intake.
The root cause: Air trapping leading to a gassy breastfed baby
When a baby swallows too much air during a feed, that air must go somewhere. It builds up in the stomach, causing bloating, discomfort, and often leads to the familiar reflux-like symptoms parents describe: arching, spitting up, burping excessively, or simply appearing distressed.
It’s a common misconception that all gassiness or reflux symptoms in a breastfed baby are due to something in the mother’s diet or a genuine digestive disorder. While these can be factors, as an SLT, we first look at the mechanics of the feed. If a baby is constantly struggling to maintain a seal, sucking inefficiently, or having to gulp to keep up with flow, he or she is inevitably swallowing air. This air then creates pressure, which can push milk back up (silent reflux) or out (visible reflux).
Think of it like trying to drink through a straw with a hole in it. You’re sucking, but you’re also pulling in air, making it harder to get the liquid and leaving you with more bubbles in your stomach.
Why mechanical speech therapy assessment is key
This is where the distinction between a medical diagnosis (true gastro oesophageal reflux disease or GORD) and a functional feeding challenge becomes critical. A paediatrician will assess for medical causes and may prescribe medication to reduce stomach acid. This can be appropriate for severe cases of GORD.
However, if the primary issue is air being trapped due to a suboptimal suck-swallow pattern, medication only treats the symptom (acid burning) and not the root cause (air intake). This is precisely where a Speech and Language Therapist specialising in infant feeding comes in.
My role is to meticulously observe and assess your baby’s oral motor skills, latch, tongue function, and the efficiency of their SSB sequence. I look for subtle signs of inefficiency that contribute to excessive air swallowing.
Is the tongue elevating correctly to create suction?
Is the jaw stable, or is it excessively moving?
Is the latch deep enough to prevent air leaks?
Can the baby coordinate suck, swallow, and breathe without gasping?
By identifying these mechanical challenges, I can then implement targeted strategies to improve feeding efficiency and reduce air intake, often leading to a significant reduction in reflux-like symptoms and overall discomfort.
Strategies to optimise air management during breastfeeding
The good news is that many babies can learn to feed more efficiently with the right support. Here are some general strategies we might explore:
Optimise latch and position: A deep, asymmetric latch is crucial. Experiment with different positions that allow for a deeper latch and better head/neck alignment, such as laid-back feeding or upright positions.
Paced feeding (even at the breast): If your milk flow is very fast, consider removing your baby from the breast briefly if you hear excessive gulping or see him or her struggling to breathe. This allows him or her to catch up and manage the flow.
Support the jaw and cheeks: Sometimes, gentle support to the baby’s jaw or cheeks can help them maintain a more stable, efficient suck. I can demonstrate specific techniques for this.
Burping effectively: While burping won’t get rid of all swallowed air, upright burping positions and gentle back rubs can help release some of it.
Pre-feed oral preparation: Gentle oral massage or stretches before a feed can sometimes ‘wake up’ the oral muscles and improve coordination.
Addressing the ‘Great Air Debate’ isn’t about blaming anyone; it’s about empowering parents with a deeper understanding of their baby’s feeding mechanics. By focusing on the how, not just the what, we can often resolve persistent feeding challenges, reduce discomfort, and make breastfeeding a more joyful, peaceful experience for both you and your little one.
If you suspect your baby’s gassiness or reflux symptoms are related to how they are managing air during feeds, don’t hesitate to reach out for a specialist assessment.
Sonja McGeachie
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
When most people think about speech or feeding difficulties, they picture the tongue, lips, or chewing skills, but how a child breathes at rest plays a surprisingly big role too.
Mouth breathing and open mouth resting posture can quietly influence everything from how a child’s face grows to how clearly they speak, to how confidently they chew and swallow. It’s something many parents never think about, until they start noticing the subtle signs.
Let’s explore why this happens, what to look for, and how to gently support better breathing and oral posture.
Recent research supports this link between mouth breathing and speech difficulties. For example, a 2022 study by Alhazmi et al., published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, found that 81.7% of children aged 9–17 who breathed primarily through their mouths presented with speech sound disorders. The study highlights how mouth breathing can significantly influence orofacial development and articulation patterns.
💨 Why we’re designed to breathe through our nose
Our bodies are made for nasal breathing. When we breathe through the nose, the air is filtered, warmed, and humidified before reaching the lungs. The tongue naturally rests against the roof of the mouth, the lips close gently, and the jaw stays relaxed, all of which encourage healthy oral development.
In contrast, mouth breathing often means the tongue rests low in the mouth and the lips stay apart. Over time, this posture can subtly reshape how the muscles and bones of the face grow.
Children who breathe through their mouths most of the time may develop:
A longer face and narrower palate
Forward head posture
Slightly open lips and low tongue position at rest
A tendency toward drooling or noisy breathing
A dry mouth and consequently bad breath
At times the tongue pushes constantly against the front teeth causing them to grow forward (buck teeth)
These changes are not anyone’s fault, as they often start because of blocked noses, allergies, enlarged adenoids, low facial muscle tone or habits formed when a child was younger. But understanding the pattern helps us know how to support change.
🗣 How mouth breathing affects speech
Speech depends on precise coordination between the lips, tongue, and jaw. The resting position of these structures affects how ready they are to move.
Reduced tongue strength and placement, i.e. the tongue rests low in the mouth (as it does in mouth breathing), it’s harder for children to lift it efficiently for sounds like /T/, /D/, /N/, /L/, and /S/. This can lead to speech that sounds slightly slushy or unclear, or a frontal lisp.
Open mouth posture and resonance: An open mouth at rest may affect how air vibrates in the oral and nasal cavities. Children might have speech that sounds a bit ‘muffled’ or lacks crispness because the lips and jaw aren’t fully supporting articulation.
Fatigue and breath control: Mouth breathing can lead to drier mouths and less efficient breath support. That can make longer sentences or conversations feel tiring, especially in noisy environments.
🥄 How mouth breathing affects feeding and chewing
Feeding involves the same structures that control speech, so posture and breathing patterns matter here, too.
Chewing efficiency: Children who habitually keep their mouths open often have low tongue tone and reduced jaw stability. They may prefer softer foods, chew slowly, or struggle with mixed textures.
Swallowing pattern: A tongue that rests low may push forward when swallowing. This ‘tongue-thrust swallow’ can interfere with efficient chewing and even affect dental alignment over time.
Breathing while eating: Since it’s hard to chew, swallow, and breathe through the mouth simultaneously, children who can’t comfortably nasal breathe may rush bites or pause to catch their breath. This can contribute to coughing, choking, or food refusal.
Common signs to watch for
Parents often notice subtle clues before realising mouth breathing is a pattern. Some red flags include:
Lips habitually open at rest
Drooling after the toddler years
Snoring or noisy breathing during sleep
Preference for soft foods or grazing eating habits
Dark circles under the eyes due to allergies
Frequent colds, congestion, or mouth odour
Speech that sounds slushy or unclear despite good effort
If several of these sound familiar, it’s worth mentioning them to your child’s GP, dentist, or speech and language therapist.
👩⚕️ What can help
Address the underlying cause: If nasal blockage, allergies, or enlarged adenoids are making nasal breathing difficult, a medical assessment is the first step. ENT specialists can rule out or treat physical causes.
Encourage closed mouth rest: Gentle reminders like ‘Lips together, tongue up, breathe through your nose’ can help older children become aware of their resting posture. For younger ones, visual cues (stickers or mirrors) can make it a game.
Build oral-motor strength and awareness: Speech therapists can design activities to strengthen the tongue and lips, improve jaw stability, and encourage balanced breathing. This might include blowing games, tongue-tip lifts, use of dental-palatal devices or oral-motor exercises disguised as play.
Support good posture: Sometimes mouth breathing goes hand-in-hand with forward-head posture. Encouraging upright sitting during meals and screen time helps keep the airway open and supports better breathing habits.
Make nasal breathing part of daily routines: Gentle nose-breathing practice during calm times (reading, bedtime, car rides) helps normalise it. Avoid making it a battle: calm, consistent reminders work best.
🌱 A gentle note on change
Patterns of mouth breathing develop over time, and change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s important to approach this with curiosity, not criticism. The aim isn’t ‘perfect breathing,’ but to give your child the tools and awareness to breathe comfortably and efficiently.
Small improvements in nasal breathing and resting posture can lead to big gains in speech clarity, eating confidence, and even sleep quality.
💡 The takeaway
Breathing seems automatic, and it is! but how we breathe matters. Mouth breathing and open-mouth posture can quietly shape how a child speaks, eats, and grows.
By noticing early signs, addressing underlying causes, and building supportive habits, you can help your child move toward stronger, clearer speech and more comfortable mealtimes.
Just like every area of development, progress starts with connection, patience, and gentle consistency, one calm breath at a time.
Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.
