Lips, tongue and more
Lip Toner – Squeezer tip
Organic flavored depressors
Biodegradable colored cotton swabs
Z-Vibe Tip – Lip Buttons
T-Vibe Sensory – Talk Tools
This is the fine-work category: getting the tongue where it needs to be, getting the lip to seal, and repeating it until it no longer needs conscious attention.
Tongue placement. Talk Tools tongue elevator and lateraliser in two bead sizes, compact elevator/lateraliser/groover, bead tongue guide, Liper Device infant tongue elevator and the TOT’s elevator tip. Each one takes the tongue to a specific point on the palate and holds it there long enough for the patient to register the position.
Lip tone. Lip Gym and ProBarbell labial weights, Squeezer lip tonifier with handle and its tip, and the Talk Tools button pull program. Progressive resistance for lip seal.
Proprioception and contact. Coloured proprioceptive finger tips, flavoured BIO depressors, smooth and textured depressor tips, TalkTools Oral Care stimulation tools and silicone toothbrushes.
Measurement and biofeedback. Tongue and lip pressure biofeedback with replacement balloons, and IOPI connection tubing. They turn the exercise into a figure the patient can watch rise.
Visual support. Webber Whopper Mouth giant mouth model, small mouth model, praxis memory game and laser pointer for indicating the exact target.
Waking the area up with vibration first usually helps. The jaw is trained separately in chewing. Lip seal underpins the breathing pattern in breathing, and baseline assessment is in exploration and diagnosis.
What oral praxis means here
Voluntary, organised movements of the facial and oral musculature performed with a specific purpose: protruding the tongue, elevating it, lateralising it, puffing the cheeks, rounding the lips.
They are not gymnastics for their own sake. They make sense when aimed at a function that is failing, which is why sequence matters more than volume.
Placement before strength
The most common mistake is asking for strength while the patient still does not know where to put their tongue.
First, find the spot
The tongue's resting point — just behind the upper incisors, on the papilla — is the reference for almost everything. Bead tongue elevators take the tongue there passively, and the patient registers the sensation.
Then, hold
Sustain the position for a few seconds unaided. This is where tremor and jaw compensation show up, and they need correcting before moving on.
Then, move precisely
Lateralise, groove, sweep the palate. The groover and bead guide provide the template for the movement.
Finally, resist
Lip weights, buttons and tonifiers. Only once placement is established: adding load to an incorrect pattern locks it in.
Why biofeedback changes adherence
A child has no idea whether they are pressing harder than last week. Neither does an adult. Pressure biofeedback and the IOPI turn invisible effort into a number on a screen.
That does two things: it lets you dose load with judgement, and it sustains motivation — which across an eight-week daily exercise programme is the variable that decides the outcome.
Common questions
How many repetitions per exercise?
Fewer than are usually prescribed. Orofacial musculature is small and fatigues quickly; short, frequent sets outperform long sessions and avoid compensations.
Do praxis exercises work without function?
Not much. Moving the tongue for its own sake has limited effect unless it transfers to eating, swallowing or speaking. Transfer is the step you cannot skip.
Can these be used at home?
Yes, and they should be. Almost all of this is designed to be prescribed as daily homework. Hand over the exercise in writing with the repetition count fixed.