04/21/2026
I’ve been a Speech-Language Pathologist since 2011. But how I treat speech sound errors THEN versus NOW could not be more different!
Seven years in to my SLP career, I realized I wasn’t breathing well, swallowing properly, or sleeping soundly — with tongue tie being the root cause! And ever since I got humble enough to address these issues in myself, I’m a completely different provider.
When the muscles of the tongue cannot move properly or have to work extra hard to do the bare minimum, you end up with speaking, breathing, and swallowing challenges.
Early in my career, I just assumed both my clients (and my own) musculature worked well enough to eventually produce the target sound correctly with a little help.
Now, I know we have to target not only the specific sounds but all the underlying components — strength, stamina, and stability — of the entire orofacial musculature!
You have to actually work your muscles for them to learn how to maintain it on their own!
I also know now how important BREATHING is in all of these activities! If your breathing if off, your nervous system is off. And your nervous system impacts EVERYTHING!
Even the posture you’re sitting in while trying to correctly articulate speech sounds matters!
And once you get the muscles working more efficiently, train the breath, and provider the correct underlying structural support ... the speech is so much easier to knock out of the park!
But most importantly, I strive to continuously be the provider my younger self needed - helping me learn why breathing impacts everything, how to get a good night’s sleep, and believing I can.
Special thanks to this mom who captured this sweet moment yesterday. At the end of virtual sessions with my younger clients, I always dress up Vanna in the outfit of their choice. This time is was cowboy and my client had a hat of his own to match! The joy in the picture helped remind me why I do what I do.
Here to help you breathe + be.
