Speech Delays? Understanding the 6 Muscle Groups Behind Talking
As a parent of a child with speech delays, you may have visited numerous specialists and explored different therapies, hoping to support your child’s communication development, perhaps without significant results.
You might be feeling frustrated, wondering, “Why hasn’t anyone explained this to me before?”
One key aspect of speech development that is often overlooked is the coordination of six muscle groups that work together to produce speech. These muscles influence breath control, articulation, and vocalization—factors that play a vital role in verbal communication.
Understanding how these muscle groups work together can transform your child’s ability to speak.
In this article, we’ll explore how these six muscle groups are involved in speech production and why this information is often left unaddressed by many professionals.
The 6 Muscle Groups Involved in Speech Production
Speech production is a highly coordinated process that relies on precise muscle movements.
There are six primary muscle groups that work together to help us speak. These groups are responsible for producing intelligible sounds, words, and sentences.
Let’s break them down:
1. Muscles for Speech Breathing
Speech breathing is essential for verbal production. The diaphragm, intercostal muscles (between the ribs), and other muscles involved in inhalation and exhalation all contribute to speech breathing.
When we speak, air passes through the vocal cords, which vibrate to create sound.
Proper breath control is needed for clear speech, as it enables a person to project their voice and control the flow of air necessary for articulation.
Why This Is Important
If your child’s breath support muscles are not coordinated, they may find it challenging to produce sound or control the volume and quality of their voice.
Breath support is a foundational skill for speech, and its development can make a noticeable difference in speech clarity.
2. Muscles of the Vocal Cords
The vocal cords, located in the larynx, vibrate when air passes through them to produce sound.
Voiced sounds like “b,” “d,” and “g” require the vocal cords to vibrate, while unvoiced sounds such as “p,” “t,” and “k” do not vibrate.
The ability to control the vocal cords and adjust their vibrations is critical for speech production.
Why This Is Important
Children with speech delays may need additional support in developing control over their vocal cord movements, which plays a key role in speech clarity.
Gaining control over vocal cord movements is one of the first steps in teaching a child how to speak.
3. Pharyngeal Muscles (Back of the Throat)
The pharynx muscles (the muscles in the back of the throat) help direct the airflow during speech.
Some sounds—like “m,” “n,” and “ng”—require air to pass through the nose, while all other sounds require air to come out of the mouth.
These muscles help form different speech sounds.
Why This Is Important
A child who has difficulty coordinating the muscles at the back of their throat may produce nasal speech or unclear sounds.
By working on these muscles, you can help your child produce clearer and more intelligible speech.
4. Muscles of the Lips
The lips are crucial for producing labial sounds, such as “p,” “b,” “m,” “f,” and “v.” These sounds require the lips to come together or vibrate.
The lips also help shape certain vowels and consonants, providing clarity and distinction in speech.
Why This Is Important
If the lip muscles aren’t coordinated properly, a child may have trouble articulating certain sounds clearly, resulting in unclear or “mumbled” speech.
Helping your child gain better control over lip movements can significantly improve their articulation and speech clarity.
5. Muscles of the Tongue
The tongue is the most versatile muscle in speech.
It’s used to produce a wide variety of sounds, including “t,” “d,” “l,” “r” and “s.” The tongue can move in many directions—up, down, back, forward, and side to side—allowing us to form different speech sounds.
Why This Is Important
Some children may need additional support in developing tongue coordination, which plays a role in speech clarity.
Understanding how to help your child position and move their tongue for different sounds is crucial for developing intelligible speech.
6. Jaw Muscles
The jaw is vital for shaping sounds, especially vowels. The movement and stability of the jaw help create clear and distinct speech sounds.
For example, different vowel sounds require different jaw positions—lower for some vowels and higher for others.
Why This Is Important
A lack of jaw stability can result in poor articulation and unclear speech. Helping your child develop jaw control is necessary for clear, intelligible speech.
How These Muscle Groups Work Together
Speech production involves the coordinated movement of all six muscle groups. The brain sends signals to these muscle groups to create sounds.
The muscles must work together in harmony to produce speech accurately and clearly. If one or more of these muscle groups are not functioning properly, speech can become unclear or distorted.
It’s important to note that speech is a dynamic process, and it takes time for a child to develop the muscle coordination necessary for clear speech.
Oral Motor Placement Therapy that targets these muscle groups can help your child gain the coordination needed for speech production.
Why Parents Aren’t Told About These Muscle Groups
Many parents are surprised to learn about the six muscle groups involved in verbal production. Unfortunately, this information is frequently overlooked by professionals.
Traditional speech therapy focuses on producing individual speech sounds rather than addressing the coordination of the muscles involved in speech production.
This oversight can be frustrating for parents who are trying to understand why their child isn’t progressing in speech therapy. Without addressing the underlying coordination of these muscle groups, speech therapy may not be as effective as it could be.
What You Can Do for Your Child
Now that you understand how these six muscle groups coordinate for speech, you or your child’s speech pathologist can take a more informed approach to your child’s speech development.
Targeting these muscle groups through therapy and specific exercises can help your child develop the coordination they need to speak clearly.
Understanding the six muscle groups involved in speech production can be a game changer for parents of non-speaking or speech-delayed children. Rather than focusing solely on speech sounds, targeting the coordination of these muscle groups can provide a more effective path toward communication.
If your child is struggling with speech, consider working with professionals who take a holistic approach, incorporating oral motor exercises alongside other evidence-based speech interventions.
