Phoenix Business Brief Podcast Presents: Juniper Speech Therapy
- juniperspeechtherapy
- Mar 19
- 3 min read
Looking Beyond Speech: How Breathing & Eating Can Affect Speech
I was recently interviewed on the Phoenix Business Brief podcast with host Brian Hyde to talk about my work as a speech-language pathologist and the growing role of orofacial myofunctional therapy in helping my clients achieve their speech goals.
Many families think speech therapy is only about helping a child pronounce sounds like R or S, but there can be much more happening behind the scenes.
Below is a simple summary of the questions we discussed and the key takeaways for families.
What is your background and what do you do?
I’ve been a speech-language pathologist for about 25 years and have worked in many settings, including schools, nursing homes, clinics, home health, and private practice.
For the past six years, I’ve owned Juniper Speech Therapy. Our team provides speech therapy with a special focus on orofacial myofunctional therapy, which looks at how the tongue, breathing, sleep, and eating patterns affect speech and overall development.
We offer therapy in-home, in clinic, and virtually, and currently serve families throughout the Phoenix area and across Arizona.
What is Myofunctional Therapy?
Myofunctional therapy focuses on how the tongue and mouth function.
We look at things like:
Where the tongue rests in the mouth
Whether a child breathes through the nose or mouth
Sleep habits, including snoring or restless sleep
Eating and swallowing patterns
These factors all influence how clearly a child speaks.
For example, if the tongue stays low in the mouth or pushes forward during swallowing (called a tongue thrust), it can affect speech sounds such as R, S, L, and TH. By improving tongue posture, breathing, and swallowing patterns, many children are able to make better progress in speech therapy. Often, we begin by working on these foundational skills before focusing directly on speech sounds.
How common is it for families to know about Myofunctional Therapy?
Most families haven’t heard of it before.
Many parents come to us because their child has been in speech therapy for years and still struggles with certain sounds. Sometimes a child has plateaued, or their speech is still difficult to understand in conversation.
When we ask questions about sleep, breathing, eating, and dental development, we sometimes find underlying patterns that may be affecting speech progress.
Awareness of myofunctional therapy is growing, but it’s still a newer concept for many families.
What signs should parents look for?
Some signs that may be worth exploring include:
Mouth breathing
Snoring or restless sleep
Sleeping with the mouth open
Drooling beyond the toddler years
Messy eating
Picky eating
Difficulty with sounds like R, S, L
Crowded teeth or a very narrow palate
Snoring, for example, is often thought of as cute in children, but it’s actually not considered normal and may signal airway or breathing issues.
When should parents seek help?
Early support can make a big difference.
If parents notice ongoing mouth breathing, sleep concerns, speech difficulties, or feeding challenges, it may be helpful to get an evaluation rather than waiting to see if a child grows out of it.
Many families I see say they were told to “wait and see.” While some children do outgrow certain patterns, others benefit from early intervention that helps guide healthy development.
What is the most important message for parents?
The biggest takeaway is that speech is connected to many other functions in the body.
Breathing, sleep, tongue posture, eating, and jaw development all work together. When something in that system isn’t functioning well, it can affect speech development.
It’s helpful for parents to know that:
Mouth breathing is not ideal for development
Snoring in children isn’t normal
Picky eating may have an underlying reason
Persistent speech errors sometimes have deeper causes
The goal is not just clearer speech but supporting healthy development overall.
About Juniper Speech Therapy
Juniper Speech Therapy serves families throughout the Phoenix area with services in:
North Phoenix office
East Valley and West Valley in-home therapy
Virtual therapy across Arizona
Our team specializes in speech therapy, feeding therapy, and myofunctional therapy.
Families can learn more or request an evaluation at :www.juniperspeechtherapy.com
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