A Guide to Functional Support for Lip and Tongue-Ties

This course gives you the clinical competence to rule out tethered oral tissues when working with feeding (and speech)clients across the lifespan. Clinicians who have advanced training in identifying tongue-ties, refer to appropriate providers, and have a systematic way to complete education to the client/child/caregiver will become a valued resource within their community. This workshop will teach you how to identify when a tongue-tie is causing a functional impact, improve your decision-making process about when to refer, and how to support your client through the healing process. Bring your gloves, "Big Mouth/Mighty Mouth", a straw, and water for demonstrations of strategies to improve awareness of appropriate placement/swallow patterns for speech and feeding and assess tongue movement during the swallow. After completing this course, you will bring advanced knowledge of swallow function, speech placement, and oral rest postures back to your clinic/hospital, which will lead to improved outcomes for your clients!

Highlights

• Effective assessment tools for identifying the functional impact of tongue-ties in relation to infant feeding, toddler feeding, adult feeding, and speech
• Recommendations for emotional support to guide your clients through what to expect at an age-appropriate level
• Positive outcomes can be expected due to theoverall improved understanding of anatomy,function, and the frenectomy process

Target Audience: Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Speech-Language Pathologists