Tip of the Tongue Orofacial Myology and Lactation Services

Did you know technically anyone can say they do speech therapy.WHAAAATTTTT? Oh heck ya that is quite confusing!Only a TRUE Speech Language Pathologist can use the title Speech Language Pathologist or Speech Therapist, but the words speech therapy are not protected, so anyone can say they do it (they might call themselves things such as communication therapists,speech-language consultants or providing speech/language stimulation. Please DON’T be fooled- the...se individuals are not equivalent to being a Speech Language Pathologist in knowledge or clinical skill.It is up to you as the client to do your due diligence- question the training, skill and competence of the therapist you hire! Speech Language Pathologists are regulated- that means that we have a provincial college that requires us to follow a Code of Ethics and ensures we have completed clinical competencies.As a regulated SLP we must have a Master’s degree, a Doctorate or equivalent.Typically this means we have an undergraduate degree plus 2 years of a Masters degree which has included coursework and clinical practicum hours in communication, feeding and swallowing. You can check that you or your child is seeing a fully qualified, competent and regulated SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) please verify they are registered with the Alberta College of SLP by going to https://acslpav6.alinityapp.com/Client/PublicDirectory. Side Note: Most insurance companies reimburse services provided by a Registered Speech Language Pathologist.So if you happen to be receiving services but can’t seem to get reimbursed this could be a red flag.Is it that your plan doesn’t cover Speech Therapy or is it that you aren’t seeing a Registered Speech Language Pathologist?

Okay mamas (and their support crew). This one is for you. Let's set you up for success with the 4th trimester. Knowledge is power! Come join Elle Physiotherapy and Pelvic Health Centre, Cara McGinnis Counselling and myself to figure out what comes next once baby arrives. We will be touching on physical and emotional health. I will be covering an intro to Latch Lessons- how to set you and baby up for a successful start to breastfeeding. Cozy up at home and join us with your questions. #4thtrimester #breastfeedingsupport #maternalmentalhealth #pelvichealth #breastfeedingmamas #lactationsupport

For anyone that I have taught, mentored or treated, they know I speak about this all the time! The key to successful speech therapy is NEUROPLASTICITY or understanding how our brain learns and changes over time. In the winter I use a tobogganing analogy and in the summer it’s a walking path in the sand. Our body will always choose the path of least resistance and this will become the automatic pathway/habit that our brain will follow. It is guided by principles such as: SP...ECIFICITY- be specific in practicing what you want to improve (if you want to improve oral rest posture you must practice oral rest posture) REPETITION- to create a new habit we must repeat the new habit over and over and over INTENSITY- in order to make something automatic we must practice using the new skill intensively in our daily program USE IT OR LOSE IT- this one is obvious... if we don’t keep using our newly acquired skill we will lose it. SALIENCE MATTERS- as a clinician it is my job to make therapy salient or important to the client, so they understand why they are doing what they are doing. This way the client can more easily remember the skills that are important to them individually. When walking along the sand, the path most frequently used will be the one that you naturally will take AND that will weather the storms to be there for the days to come. If we have been doing something for years such as sitting with our lips apart and our tongue forward OR producing the L sound against our teeth instead of on the alveolar ridge, we will naturally fall back to this old, engrained habit... UNLESS we are intentional and use the power of neuroplasticity to change our brains plan. #myofunctionaltherapy#speechtherapy#oralrestposture

Such a cool video to show the reason that I work together with some amazing dentists, orthodontists, craniofacial therapists, chiropractors and osteopaths. We need to look at the body as a whole. Our body is so complex- it truly does take a team to get the optimal outcomes we obtain with our complex clients that have potential tethered oral tissues (tongue, lip and/or buccal ties) and facial pain patients. For the speechies out there, this is the reason we need to understand the fascia system. Check out The Breathe Institute and www.fastandfunctional.com for more information.

Here’s a little secret. Everyone thinks speech therapists use our more than our but that’s not always the case. Often the reason that speech sounds the way it does in conversation is because of where an individual is producing their sounds. We need to look at the entire oral structure (breathing, lips, jaw, tongue, palate, teeth etc) to see what may be impacting speech production and look at where a sound is being produced. We need... to understand WHY speech sounds the way it does to understand HOW we can correct it. Sometimes speech sounds okay in single words or phrases but then breaks down or becomes slushy or imprecise in sentences because of where the sound is being made (ie ‘Love’ may sound okay as a single word, but when put into a longer sentence it can become harder to understand). If you have questions about your child’s speech- reach out to us. #structureimpactsfunction#myofunctionaltherapy#speechlanguagepathology See more