My name is Kaylene French and I am a Speech-Language Pathologist trained in orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) and pediatric feeding. I will work with you, your baby or your child to assess and treat any structural (e.g. tongue tie, lip tie, enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids) and/or functional (e.g. weak muscle tone, incorrect muscle patterns, oral habit) issues with the tongue, lips and/or jaws.

You or your child may be diagnosed with an Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder (OMD) and may need to see other professionals (e.g. an Ear-Nose-Throat Doctor, an Allergy Doctor, a Dentist specializing in tethered oral tissues, an Orthodontist, an Osteopath, a Chiropractor or a Craniosacral Therapist).

If your child is under 4 years of age, I will work with them using feeding therapy techniques to improve their feeding and orofacial myofunctional skills. If your child is 4 years of age and older, I will work with them using orofacial myofunctional therapy to fix these areas of concern and you will see big changes in their ability to speak clearly, sleep and breathe properly. If not corrected, OMDs can cause negative changes to a person's teeth, face, jaws, body posture and overall health.

If needed, I will support you or your child through a tongue-tie release by working with trained and experienced tethered oral tissue release providers to coordinate care. This will involve pre and post-release therapy sessions where I will train you or your child on specialized exercises and stretches to make sure that the wound doesn't reattach and to get the best function out of the tongue-tie release.

You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Martin Luther King Jr

More information about Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs)

On May 2014, the Speech and Hearing BC association posted on its website about "Tongue Thrust/Oral Myofunctional Disorder". It described how children's tongues develop from an immature swallow (also called a "tongue thrust" where the tongue touches the back of the teeth during a swallow) to a mature swallow (the tongue tip touches behind the upper or lower teeth during a swallow). There can be many reasons why this immature swallow pattern continues, for example: tongue and/or lip ties, enlarged tonsils/adenoids and obstructed airways and nasal passages. Thumb-sucking and pacifier use are also implicated in how these OMDs present and persist. Articulation of speech sounds, dental structures including teeth and palate, chewing/eating behaviors and overall facial appearance are also impacted as children develop and grow using these incorrect muscle patterns.

The picture below represents the roof of your mouth. The tip of your tongue is supposed to touch the X in this picture when you swallow and when it's at rest and the back part of your tongue should be lightly suctioned to the roof of your mouth. What does your tongue do?