Q: Do SLP’s need a background in orofacial myofunctional therapy?

I am not a certified orofacial myologist, but I have taken many seminars on the topic. I attend their conventions periodically, and I read and have written for the IAOM Journal. I have found that concepts from orofacial myofunctional therapy have been very useful to me as another way to gain a broad perspective of oral movements.

Throughout my career I have combined concepts from orofacial myology, feeding development and therapy, and dysphagia management together with anatomy, physiology, neurology, embryology, and biology, and various motor therapies, in order to gain a broad perspective on oral movement for speech. I have found that there is tremendous overlap of ideas about mouth function across these areas. This background has given me a broad array of concepts, assessment procedures, and therapy methods from which to draw for articulation, phonological, and motor speech therapy. These concepts allow me to understand and create good methods.

Although in my personal work I have not found it necessary to become a certified orofacial myologist, I definitely have learned a lot from the concepts.

If I had another life running parallel to this one, I would get this certification and I would make OFM therapy a regular part of what I did.

For more about orofacial myology, visit the International Association of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapists website.