Stop Funneling Every Child Into Myofunctional Therapy!
In this segment of her YouTube video, Hallie Bulkin argues against the pervasive marketing that pushes myofunctional (MYO) therapy as a universal solution for all children with oral‑motor or related difficulties. She stresses that clinicians must first identify the child’s specific functional pattern and determine whether MYO truly contributes to the problem. Depending on the assessment, the appropriate intervention may be MYO, feeding therapy, an airway evaluation, involvement of occupational, speech‑language, or physical therapy, or simply monitoring without additional therapy. Bulkin emphasizes a family‑centered approach where clinicians seek to understand each child’s unique needs rather than fitting them into a pre‑packaged program, which she finds both ineffective and frustrating.
