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My Myo Story

I get asked ALL the time about myofunctional therapy. 

What course did you take?
How did you save up for it?
What do you recommend?


Although I often talk about personal finance, a large part of my money journey has involved opening my own private practice. It has allowed me to not only increase my income, over income potential but it has also given me my love for the SLP field back. 

If you haven’t heard my story, a couple years ago, I almost left the field. I was DONE. I was tired of being underpaid, made to feel like a second class healthcare provider and then i was ex pected to smile about it? Ummm no. 

I can credit my success in private practice to learning the value of niching down and being freakin awesome at what you do and gladly passing and referring out clients who I feel I cannot serve to the best of my ability. This may either be due to scheduling and limiting the amount of patients I have at once or be CELEBRATING other private practitioners in my area with other niches. Serving autistic students' language needs is just not my thing. BUT I know a great SLP who specializes in this in my area, so I click my heels together if I can refer patient to another wonderful provider who wil serve that patient and their family BETTER than I can. 

Anyways...you came here to hear about Myo, so lets talk about it. 

I learned about myofunctional therapy from a local PT. She is absolutely amazing and is the first physical therapist to get her COM aka she’s a boss. I had an artic kiddo who was making molasses kind of slow progress, difficulty with managing saliva, low tone, mouth breather, all of the red flags for a child in need of myofunctional therapy. 

I had briefly heard about tongue tie and thought maybe that is what was part of this kiddos difficulties and he was referred to her for a myofunctional evaluation. 
MIND. BLOWN. 

At first I was like “why is she having this kid click his tongue and but on stuff?” 

As much as my well meaning grad professor BARKED at me “oral motor isn’t evidenced based”, (I also had one teacher who brought in the owner of an oral motor based clinic to discuss oral motor and openly mocked her when she finished her lecture), this child’s progress, progress he has NOT made with me by they way, was all the evidence I needed. 

And honestly I just completely took off from there. I saved up for the IAOM intro class, and my entire perspective on articulation was changed. 

Ok Danni, quit talking and lets get to the good stuff right?

Here’s what I wish I knew/had with the beginning of my myo journey. I am STILL and with ALWAYS be learning by the way. 

  1. There are two main organizations in the myo world
    • IAOM (International Association with Orofacial Myology)
      1. Offers COM (Certified Orofacial Myologist)
    • AOMT (Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy)
      1. Offers COMT Certified Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist 
        1. Previously offered QOM (Qualified Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist)
    • IAOM is the oldest and most well known of the two organizations 
      1. https://www.iaom.com/ 
    • AOMT became a thing when a previous member of IAOM left and started the AOMT (insert dramatic sigh here)
      1. https://aomtinfo.org/  
  2. You do NOT have to be certified (COM or COMT) to practice myo if you are an SLP. It is already in your scope of practice. 
    • Although certification can be a good investment and/or achievement  for you depending on your goals etc. you DO NOT have to be certified
    • As an SLP, you can practice myo since its in your scope of practice
    • To become a COM or a COMT, you must take an intro course accredited by the providing organization as well as other requirements which may vary (written assessment, session observations etc) 
  3. Myofunctional therapy is a beautiful blend of art and science. Cookie cutter won't cut it. 
    • There are many other programs out there so be sure to do your research. One thing I have learned with myo is similar to how I feel about money and finances: there is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL program or set of exercises. You must ask yourself “what is my goal and how is this exercise etc going to get me there?”
  4. An intro class is JUST the beginning. Give yourself time to learn and practice.
    • Most big intro classes can cost anywhere from $1500-$2500. That’s definitely a chunk of change to not be taken lightly. Unfortunately, I think since there is a higher price tag people expect to be a myo aficionado when the course is over. YES you will learn a lot, but like with anything, you need to give yourself the time and grace and get your hands on as many faces as you can.  
  5. There is a lot of change happening in the myo field as more people become aware etc so keep educating yourself. 
    • Myo is becoming more widely known about and accepted in the post oral motor isn't evidenced based SLP world. With that there are more resources, teachers, classes etc. As with anything, ALWAYS do your due diligence. 
  6. Be prepared to educate parents and other SLP professionals. 
    • Although myo is becoming more widely accepted, there are still many practitioners who aren’t as happy about the myo train getting more passengers if you know what I mean. Be prepared to be a continual learner and have calm and fruitful conversations with other practitioners. At the end of the day, its not about our ego, its about the wellbeing of those we serve. 
  7. Some of my favorite myo and myoesque goodies, classes and associations with all the things :)
    • The Myo Membership with Hallie Bulkin
    • TOTS training with Autumn Reed Henning
    • The Breathe Institute
    • ICAP International Consortium of Anklylofrenula Professionals
    • OroMyofunctional Study Facebook Group