Autumn is a Speech Pathologist, an Oral Facial Myologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). An oral function trifecta! Her private practice, Chrysalis Orofacial, is located in South Carolina, America. 

Autumn’s experience with orofacial myology is both personal and professional. Autumn was tongue tied and experienced symptoms throughout her life. The symptoms weren’t the traditional ‘speech’ or ‘eating’ difficulties that are typically identified by speech pathologists. Rather, she had peripheral issues with airway and swallowing. Her tongue tie was released in 2015 and it has been ‘life changing’! This process is ongoing and involved orofacial myology therapy, nasal turbinate surgery and going forward the use of an appliance to widen her palate. It is a long but worthwhile journey to enjoy symptom relief and optimal nasal breathing.

Autumn has also experienced orofacial myology as a mother. Her daughter had a lip and tongue tie release and the associated therapeutic intervention with great outcomes. Her experience reflects the importance of early intervention!

Professionally, Autumn’s passion for orofacial myology started off in paediatric feeding which led her to investigate into posterior tongue ties. Since then, she has been holding face to face and online courses about her own model of care for orofacial myology. Since 2016, there has been over 2000 health and allied health professionals who have attended and completed these courses. 

Autumn’s mission is to spread the word as tongue ties are common and often undiagnosed. Functional impact can occur later in life and affect breathing, feeding, dentition, speech and more!

Over the years and through her experiences she has created a course and her own model of care (for example, TOTS Training course, Plot The Tot and The STONES Approach course to name a few). There have since 2016. 

One of her key missions is to spread the word and educate about orofacial myology. She holds many courses (face to face and online) which you can find more about on her website https://www.chrysalisorofacial.com/.

You can also learn more about Autumn on her Instagram:  ‘ chrysalisorofacial1’ https://www.instagram.com/chrysalisorofacial1/ 

Autumn and Kate’s interest in OMT were both sparked by noticing some clients who have been in Speech Therapy for a long time, and the need to explore OMT as a potential answer.

Orofacial myology is a term used to describe how the muscles of the mouth and face work together, (or don’t), and how these patterns can affect a variety of areas of your health. Did you know that your tongue position in your mouth can affect your sleep?

One of the most significant impacts Autumn has made in the world of OMT was her new definition of ‘tethered oral tissues.’ The definition encompasses 3 elements; it must have been there since birth, have a reduced range of motion and a functional impact. 

Tethered oral tissues include either a tight or shortened tissue. Everyone has a frenulum (there are 7 in the mouth) which are bands of tissues that connect. The ectoderm determines how long that tissue is. If these tissues affect the range of motion on the tongue, that’s when you have a tongue tie.

For patients/clients with a structural issue, a multidisciplinary team would involve a Speech Pathologist, Dentist, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist, General Practitioner (GP), Paediatrician, oral surgeons, nurses and midwives. For patients/clients with a functional issue, a multidisciplinary team would involve a lactation consultant, and Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, Dental Hygienist and a Physical Therapist.

It is multifactorial:

• Breathing, (if there is an airway obstruction, we will adapt to mouth breathing)
• Dysfunction with swallowing 
• Tongue thrust swallow pattern

Oral habits are related to airway issues. Motor planning is also a habit. When a tongue is tethered and cannot rest on the roof of the mouth it can affect speech. 

A functional approach is conducted before the structural approach. In other words, therapy begins before the tongue tie is released, surgery is then conducted and then therapy re-commences after the tongue tie release. 

If you, your child or someone you know has been in Speech Therapy for years with little to no progress, OMT may be the answer. Our clinics are one of the few that specialise in this area in Sydney so get in touch and start the conversation! We offer telehealth as well as face to face consultations. Contact us on (02) 9326 6000 or spottherapyhub@gmail.com.