Nervous setting up a new myofunctional therapy office

Hi there, how are you and the team? I am excited and nervous at the same time about setting up a new myofunctional therapy office. I am having some questions about where to begin now that I have completed the course and am home with referral sources ready to start sending some people my way. So far I’ve met some interesting cases such as an 8y r old on a pacifier, a 16 yr old thumb sucker and 41 yr old pt who suffers a limp face due to bell’s palsy . I haven’t started any myo yet or reviewed my notes since I’ve been busy with hygiene work but I can’t let my training go to waste! I’m considering shadowing someone. Do you recommend anyone I can go to ? Or should I just review and prepare with the materials you’ve provided? Help 🙂

Hi, Very nice to hear from you. It is not unusual for someone just completing class to feel as you do. This is particularly true of RDHs since the SLPs have already been doing “therapy.” Yes, my answer to your last question is a BIG YES….that you must jump right in! No one can start up and know what to expect. Unlike hygiene, therapy is a learning process. We don’t know what we will do for a given patient we will see today. We don’t have to have the answers when they walk in the door. We are “therapists” and listen to them, examine them, probe with a variety of questions to get at everything as well as we possibly can….then we take a breath and look at our evaluation results, taking our time (you can even send them home and bring them back in a day or two once you have organized everything for them.) You look at the eval results and formulate your plan of action. You can contact us, and most definitely go to the our Neo-Health Facebook Group for others from our family of grads…..they have been through the same thing you are experiencing and can offer good advice. When you see the client next time, review your findings and give your recommendations. If they are comfortable, give them the first lesson if time allows, providing an early lingual exercise and a lip exercise if needed based on your evaluation findings, Myo Lip Reading, etc. You don’t have to know many lessons ahead. You will take it one lesson at a time, analyzing how well they accomplished the last assignment and them adding a new item or two that makes sense…based on the evaluation findings you have. Start your first client as soon as possible, being sure not to do it for free! If you are starting with a friend’s child or family member, make them pay something….even if it is to bring you a sandwich each time! Now, this is big momma talking to you….I will be waiting to hear back and find that you have stepped forward and begun. Waiting makes it more difficult since you have things more fresh in your mind right now. Looking for a mentor or someone to shadow might not be helpful since their clients will be different than yours and you really do have everything you need to begin right now. Our class sets you up to start orofacial myology evaluation and treatment immediately. We await hearing from your setting up a new myofunctional therapy office…

Additional comment: Wow wow wow thank you for the response! I’ll work on my evaluation and order extra materials and UTT habit breaking kit. I’ll also come up with my pricing for the initial eval. It is overwhelming the knowledge and the high expectations now placed on me since I got back! I am in demand already! I just panicked. Will update you with the progress. Thank you, Momma Bear! Baby bear