If we look up the dictionary for buccophonatory praxias, so well-known in the world of speech therapy, we find no results. The closest and most accurate answer we find in the literature is praxia, defined as "the system of coordinated movements based on a result or intention" (Cortes & Soprano, 1991).
It's important to keep in mind that the buccophonatory organs are the organs involved in speech: the tongue, lips, cheeks, jaw, and soft palate. These organs are muscles and need to be exercised to achieve the ideal tone, agility, mobility, coordination, and strength needed to develop proper speech.
When a child has trouble articulating a sound correctly, we're told it's because they're not performing oral-phonatory practices correctly. And we, ignorant of the field, wonder what this means.
Thus, we can understand that, to achieve optimal speech, it is important to possess agility and coordination of the buccophonatory organs and we understand that the much-desired praxias are the different conscious, voluntary and directed movements that a person has to carry out, to stimulate, learn or improve the movements that a person uses to speak, which we would understand as articulatory gymnastics.
And how do we properly practice these practices? The most important thing is to seek the advice of a speech therapist, who is a specialized therapist. However, once we understand the necessary and appropriate movements, they must be performed within the family setting and on a regular basis.
In this way, we will exercise and strengthen the organs involved in proper articulation beforehand. For this reason, the adult and child should stand in front of a mirror to facilitate observation of the movements being performed and thus be able to compare and adjust the models. Thanks to this position, the child will be able to see how they progress as they acquire greater agility, coordination, and strength, achieving the desired articulation points.
It's important that these exercises be short, to avoid muscle fatigue, tiredness, and a lack of motivation on the part of the child. Furthermore, they should be repeated several times, as this will help us establish the necessary associations between the exact sound of a phoneme and the corresponding movements, thus developing the relevant correlations between the articulation of the phonemes being studied.
Mariona Alsedà Florensa
Speech therapist, special education teacher and psychopedagogy.
Sources and links of interest:
Tallis J and Soprano M (1991), Neuropediatrics. Neuropsychology and learning. Buenos Aires: Nueva Visión.
http://www.hablemosdeneurociencia.com/praxias-tipos-y-procesos/
https://www.bebesymas.com/desarrollo/que-son-las-praxias
What are oral phonatory practices and how can they help you?
https://www.espaciologopedico.com/recursos/glosariodet.php?Id=234