The Beckman Oral Motor Protocol uses assisted movement and stretch reflexes to quantify response to pressure and movement, range, strength, variety and control of movement for the lips, cheeks, jaw, tongue and soft palate. The assessment is based on clinically defined functional parameters of minimal competence and does not require the cognitive participation of the individual. Because these components of movement are functional, not age specific, the protocol is useful with a wide range of ages and diagnostic categories.

Oral motor skills impact basic survival such as sucking and swallowing in infants that begin by the third month of gestation. Development of these skills enhance the progression from milk to pureed food and table foods. Oral skills also impact the control needed for speech development, from producing the cooing sounds as an infant, to articulating complex words in conversational speech.