Orofacial myology before starting artic therapy or not

I am finally beginning to work with 2 of my present speech and language clients on their OM issues. I am not sure I asked your opinion on something I heard from someone formerly, but now I would like your thoughts as I begin to practice within this field.  She asked that a client I had referred to her stop seeing me for speech remediation (for /s/) while she addressed the client’s OM disorder (tongue thrust). Are there times that you might discontinue work on articulation when addressing OMDs? And, if so, why? Hope all is well with you in sunny Florida!

Hi, If you were giving articulation therapy without first having maximized lingual skills and rest postures, it might not have been as effective as if the patient had first received the basic skills sections of orofacial myology such as we reviewed during our intensive course recently.  At this point in time, you can go ahead and treat as we discussed in class; namely, basic lingual skills first (aka Proficiency Exam #1), and then bring in the articulation once the Proficiency Exam #1 is passed or maximized.  Other critical issues such as open lip posture and mouth breathing can be addressed simultaneously with the lingual basic skills or afterwards.