Reply #5: If she's been deaf for a few years [View All]

[noamnety]

She wasn't making the full range of sounds, getting the motor skills that a tongue would require. I doubt it's related to the implant, just has to do with the way language develops in general - like how some people can't discern and make sounds from different languages if they weren't exposed to the sounds as a child.

I had a lazy tongue as a child, and one of the things I had to do was put a tiny orthodontist rubberband, like you'd use on braces, on the tip of my tongue, and put that against the roof of my mouth, and practice swallowing without dislodging the band.

Also, see if she's getting buck teeth. I was starting to develop that from my tongue (which I swear was too big for my mouth, or so it felt) always pushing against my front teeth. We caught it early enough that instead of getting braces, we were able to correct it by having a weird molded thing with a handle that slipped between my teeth and my lips - I'd put it there and tug on the handle while watching tv for about ten minutes a day. It strengthened the lip muscles enough that when I smiled it pushed my teeth back into position.