What in the world is “Myofunctional Therapy”?
The phrase "myofunctional therapy" has come up again and again in conversations I have had with multiple speech pathologists, discussing it as being a "buzzword" and something we have done for a long time. However, after digging into it, I am not sure if this is so much a "buzzword" as a need for many kids.
Parents would bring it up during speech therapy sessions. Colleagues referenced it during meetings in discussions about articulation, feeding, orthodontics, and sleep. For a while, I found myself wondering if this "myofunctional therapy" thing is worth looking into.
And it turned out to be a key component I wished I had learned about sooner.
As a Speech-Language Pathologist, I've always known that speech doesn't happen in isolation. It's influenced by breathing, posture, muscle coordination, and sensory awareness.
What I began to realize is this:
Many children weren't struggling because they couldn't create the sound. They were struggling because their bodies were still working on the foundations of communication—breathing.
Before we can change speech patterns, we need to go back to the basics.
Where is their tongue resting?
How is a child breathing?
Are lips closing comfortably?
Is chewing hard to do?
All of this is the foundation of myofunctional therapy.
A child blowing bubbles, which is a fun way to complete breathing exercises and lip rounding during speech therapy.
Is Myofunctional Therapy Crucial?
Myofunctional therapy supports how the mouth, tongue, lips, jaw, and breath work together during everyday activities like:
Breathing
Eating and chewing
Swallowing
Speaking
Resting posture
So you could probably say it's fairly important. When these systems aren't working efficiently, a child may develop patterns that impact speech clarity, feeding comfort, sleep quality, and overall level of performance in day-to-day activities.
Myofunctional therapy helps children notice, explore, and gently reshape those patterns in a way that can help them throughout their lives.
Can This Really Help Change My Child's Speech Too?
One of the biggest shifts in my thinking came from this realization:
You can't change a pattern you don't feel.
If a child has a comfortable, irregular speech pattern, we first need to build their awareness and positioning of the sounds and space in their mouths to support speech.
We start with:
Awareness of their speech and feeding helpers.
What each component does to support speech and eating.
Building comfort to support increased engagement.
This is especially important for children with speech disorders, feeding challenges, or sensory sensitivities. When a child feels safe and understood, progress becomes more meaningful—and more lasting.
Would Anyone Benefit from Myofunctional Therapy?
Not necessarily. Although many kids who also have speech delays and disorders may benefit from it, myofunctional therapy will best support children who:
Breathe through their mouth or rest with an open mouth
Snore, grind their teeth, experience restless sleep, or have trouble with bedwetting
Have difficulty with chewing or swallowing patterns
Fatigue easily during meals or speech tasks
Have a history of tongue tie, lip tie, or orthodontic concerns
Show speech sound differences related to oral movement patterns
It's not just about supporting speech. It's about supporting everything that comes before it.
A child with a pacifier. Pacifiers can cause difficulty with tongue posture later in life and impact breathing components as well.
What This Means for Families
Myofunctional therapy isn't a solution to it all or for everyone.
But it is about helping children feel more comfortable, efficient, and confident.
Sometimes that means therapy.
Sometimes that means guidance and monitoring.
Sometimes it simply means reassurance that you're noticing the right things.
And sometimes, it means realizing that what once sounded like a "buzzword" is actually a wonderful way to support the whole child.
This post draws on training and resources from Simon Says Speech, an orofacial myofunctional therapy certification program for speech-language pathologists, founded by Jennifer Simon Triandafilou, MA, CCC-SLP.
