Lateral Tongue Reflex: What is this & is it important?
What is a lateral tongue reflex? It seems like a big concept, but it’s actually pretty simple! It’s likely that you use the developed form of this reflex every day and don’t even realize it.
Jason Washburn, OT
Did you know we even have reflexes that occur inside and around our mouths? We do! There’s a reflex called the “lateral tongue reflex” or “transverse tongue reflex.” This reflex can be seen when a baby is just minutes or hours old. You can see this in a baby by touching a stimulus (bottle nipple or finger, for example) to the side of the tongue. When this happens, the baby’s tongue will go to the side of the mouth that the stimulus happened on. How cool is that?
What’s the purpose?
This reflex serves a very important purpose: preparation for eating solid foods! When this reflex gets fully integrated, it allows for what’s called “tongue-tip lateralization.” This is a big phrase, but the concept is actually pretty simple! Tongue-tip lateralization is probably the most challenging thing that your tongue can do. This is where one part of the tongue has to tighten up on the back on one side, and then tighten on the front of the other side. This is how we can use our tongues to touch our back teeth and scoop food out that gets stuck between our teeth and cheeks. Tongue-tip lateralization usually starts to show up around 7-9 months old and is typically fully active by 12-14 months.
Development of the lateral tongue reflex is important for your child to develop good feeding skills!
What if my child doesn’t do this?
When a child’s lateral tongue reflex hasn’t fully developed, the child may have issues with eating. If your child has difficulty with eating various textures of foods, contact Hogg Therapy Associates to determine if a feeding therapy evaluation is right for your child! You can contact our office at 859-353-3666, or visit our website.
Learn More:
The lateral tongue reflex in human neonates
Feeding Therapy—Facts and Developmental Milestones
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