Lifespan Therapy Specialists, LLC

09/15/2023

We advocate for this process with all of our patients...building a strong foundation for future feeding, swallowing, speech and sleep are the cornerstones of our approach.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ AND SHARE. There is a common misconception that when a baby is thought to have a tongue or lip tie to be immediately referred to a release provider. There are very few medical professionals educated on the proper protocol, the research behind it, and the updated evidence based practices for oral restrictions. Our babies are paying for this gap in knowledge with incomplete releases, overly complete releases, releases that reattach, and unnecessary discomfort. In order to gain the most benefit from a release procedure and prevent reattachment, it is essential to have a comprehensive evaluation and pre therapy to prepare the muscles of the mouth and tongue for improved functionality. Think of this as building a house, but forgetting the foundation. Or a tree being planted, but it doesn’t have roots to develop or thrive. An assessment and therapeutic intervention prior to a release HAS to be done. If a baby doesn’t have the foundational skills for feeding PRIOR to a release, what happens when all of a sudden they have a whole new range of motion on top of that? Feeding regressions. Oral aversions. Less muscle control. More discomfort. Higher probability of reattachment... and the list goes on. PLEASE, if you have a baby or know a baby with a suspected tie, see a functional feeding provider FIRST. This can be a speech language pathologist that specializes in myofunctional therapy, or a lactation consultant who specializes in oral restrictions. I promise you, starting with an evaluation and pre therapy BEFORE RELEASE will help prevent complications and save time, money, and unnecessary heartache for both the parents and baby. If you have any questions, please reach out to at or at . We would be more than happy to help guide you through this process.

05/21/2023

05/15/2023

Happy Monday!

Join us tomorrow from 4:00-6:00pm at the Bluffton Branch Library for Discovering your Village Bluffton.

Dr. Allie Flowers and Dr. Jenn Farrison will be presenting on all things Pelvic Floor from 4:15-5:00pm and then we will have open forum from 5:00-6:00pm.

Come early, stay as long as you need and find your village in Bluffton :)

05/10/2023

May is Better Speech & Hearing month and it is important to highlight the work of Speech-Language Pathologists! We are so much more than our title encompasses.

I have spent the majority of my career in the swallowing/dysphagia realm and now after extensive post-graduate trainings (and personal experiences) have pivoted to a private practice focused on Pediatric Feeding/Swallowing and Myofunctional Therapy.

05/09/2023

Come see us tonight (Tuesday, May 9th) from 4:00-6:00pm. Di Medina Doula will be presenting on Navigating Pre-Birth and Postnatal Life. Open Forum discussion will begin at 5:00pm! Come early, stay late and find your village right here in our local community!

05/02/2023

All 👏🏻 of 👏🏻this👏🏻! Starting early is KEY!

Watch Dr. Shereen Lim talk about her latest book Breathe, Sleep, Thrive, and understand how Airway Health can unlock your child's full potential.

04/18/2023

I had no idea of the whole body connection until I lived it—-there are solutions available! Call us today to schedule a free discovery call to discuss concerns with a certified and licensed SLP specializing in tethered oral tissues, pediatric feeding/swallowing and myofunctional disorders

Tongue ties can impact development starting in utero. When an infant experiences a struggle to nasal breathe, feed, sleep and digest...we *see* the struggle. If a tongue tie is present and determined to impact function, those that are left untreated can continue to impact orofacial development.

How?

Untreated tongue ties lead to the body making compensations to function.

Over time these compensations can cause the face to change shape. Some changes may include:

➡️ Malocclusion, crowded/crooked teeth
➡️ Under-development of the upper jaw and a flat mid-face
➡️ Over-development of the lower jaw contributing to a “crescent moon” profile
➡️ Progressive crowding or spreading of the upper and/or lower front teeth
➡️ Facial disharmony: flat mid-face, long-and-narrow “horsey” face, etc

So how do we know if a child may need intervention? I got you covered. We are going to talk about this and more in my Free 5 Day Training: Screen The Peds! Come screen your first pediatric feeding patient with me.

I'll supply the screener and the patients. You just show up!

📌 Sign up for our FREE training here: https://www.feedthepeds.com/training

04/11/2023

It is unfortunate that it has to be this way, but trusting your gut, asking questions and advocating is the best thing you can do for you and your child.

April 3, 2023 - 84 likes, 4 comments - Bobby Ghaheri MD () on Instagram: "When professionals fight"

04/05/2023

04/04/2023

Happy Monday Mamas!

"We are told it takes a village to raise a family, but where do you find them?"

Please come join us TOMORROW (Tuesday April 4) from 4:00-6:00ish pm--we have the room until 6:30pm) at the Bluffton Library Large Meeting Room (off the entry vestibule).
We are continuing our Community Speaker Series tomorrow--Attorney Brittany Holmes from Holmes Family Law will be presenting on Estate Planning for Your Family and Your Future! The presentation will begin at approximately 4:15pm.

Wherever you are on your motherhood journey (planning to start a family, pregnant, newborn, toddler, teenagers...doesn't matter!) we hope you can join us and share your highs, lows and the all the in-betweens and find your village right here in our community.

As always, we will also have a safe play space for older infants/toddlers (age 3 and under please) to play and socialize.

Come early, come late, stay for a while, stay for a short time--no judgment and no worries--come find whatever support you need!

Look forward to seeing you!

04/01/2023

Does palate expansion move other bones in the skull?

Lately I’ve noticed that this type of question has become more topical amongst parents.

I had one mum share concern she had read on a social media group of one child developing a chronic headache from treatment as a result of this.

I thought I’d share this great illustration to help answer this question and the impact.

The main part of the palate is comprised of two maxillary bones.

When the palate is narrow or underdeveloped, it reflects a distortion of the entire skull. Orthodontist Dr Mike Mew has written an opinion piece for the British Dental Journal calling this phenomenon “Craniofacial Dystrophy.” He relates many problems including crooked teeth, small nasal passages and sinuses, obstructive sleep apnoea, eustachian tube dysfunction, and jaw joint and muscle pain and dysfunction including some headaches, to this underlying imbalance of our cranial and facial skeleton.

Widening the palate will most certainly shift other craniofacial bones as the maxillary bones have so many connections, but in general, this should relieve this craniofacial distortion and offer greater harmony between all the facial and cranial structures. I hear more children have less headaches, rather than the expansion process causing them.

In non-growing children, and adults, sometimes surgery may be required to free up sutures (the connective tissue between the bones) or reduce transmission of the extra forces required to move the maxillary bones, into areas above the maxilla.

But when we treat early, there is less resistance to expansion forces, as the sutures are not as fused, and the bones should move more easily with gentler forces. Children will be more adaptable to the process.

The most widely used and studied rate of palate expansion for children is called Rapid Maxillary Expansion or 0.25mm a day. This is well-established to improve nasal breathing and alleviate Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. There is a lot of published literature using this rate of expansion in children going back a century, and I am not yet aware of any reported cases of headaches.

I use semi-rapid expansion as prescribed by Dr John Mew who developed the Biobloc Expansion device that I use in practice. This offers expansion at the rate of 0.125mm per day.

A few colleagues propose an appliance called ALF – or Advanced Light Wire appliance, suggesting that this is gentler, and works more naturally to shift the bones in combination with osteopathic treatment. So far, there has not been any published data on its effectiveness to improve nasal breathing, and obstructive sleep apnoea, and it will not offer the predictable expansion or remodeling of the nasal floor, and the accompanying fast improvements that are of benefit when children have symptoms of poor sleep and daytime function. I do think this type of appliance could have a role in some children that may not tolerate bulk in their mouth. I remain curious, and only wish more providers could start sharing images of the structural changes they are achieving to see what is possible.

Either way, this illustration can help highlight that the palate is connected to the rest of the facial and cranial bones, and that cranial osteopaths can always play an important role to help relieve strains and optimize adaptation to palate expansion.

But I don’t think that the movement of bones in the skull needs to be a huge concern, or obstacle to treatment if done in growing children using well established protocols.

03/28/2023

This is why we employ a whole-body, holistic approach that is constantly assessing if ties are structural or functional (or both) in nature. When a release is indicated we always recommend it but there are times when it is not—which is why a functional assessment and a TEAM based collaborative approach is essential!