Main Content

Gloss Dysarthria Speech Exercises

Your tongue is responsible for touching very specific places in your mouth at a high rate of speed to create clear speech. This can be difficult following a surgery where tissue in the mouth is removed. Your tongue will be less mobile and not as strong as it was prior to surgery. This often results in unclear or mumbled sounding speech. Below are strategies and practice exercises to help improve the quality of your speech sounds. This will make it easier for you to be understood by others.

Strategies for Clear Speech:

• Think SLOW. The slower you speak, the easier it is for others to understand you. This also allows time for your tongue, lips, and other articulators to get where they need to for certain speech sounds.
• Open your mouth and OVER pronounce your words.
• Make sure you are face to face with your listener and use gestures and eye contact to add to your message.
• Reduce or eliminate background noise. Turn the TV or radio volume down when you are about to speak to someone.
• Provide the listener with context. This helps prepare the listener to expect certain words.
• Do not be afraid to repeat yourself if someone does not understand you the first time.

Using the strategies above, practice the following 3-4 times a day. 

• PRACTICE saying Days of the Week
• PRACTICE counting 1-20
• PRACTICE saying favorite sports teams
• PRACTICE saying “My name is _______”
• PRACTICE saying Months of the Year
• PRACTICE saying the alphabet “A, B, C, D, E, F….”
• PRACTICE saying “My birthday is _____”
• PRACTICE saying different holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas)
• PRACTICE saying names of family members
• PRACTICE saying individual sounds with extra strength: “P”, “B”, “K”, “G”
• PRACTICE saying common sentences and phrases you say frequently

1._______________________________________________________

2._______________________________________________________

3._______________________________________________________

Questions? Call UMMC Speech-Language Pathology 601-815-6064 or email mmurray@umc.edu.

Back to ENT Patient Information