Chat Speech Language Pathology PLLC

05/08/2026

Today we’re officially celebrating Lauren’s 3 year anniversary at Chat Speech! 🎉 (we actually celebrated Wednesday 🎉🥂)
Lauren was the very first employee! Over the past 3 years, she has been such an important part of every step of our growth, and we truly would not be where we are today without her.
While her title is ‘Patient Care Coordinator’, Lauren is so much more than that. She is often the very first person our patients “meet” when they call. She makes sure every single person feels welcomed, supported, and cared for. She helps patients get the services, insurance coverage, and guidance they need, and she does it all with so much compassion and heart.
Lauren, thank you for everything you do for our team, our patients, and our community. Your dedication, kindness, and hard work make such a difference every day, and we are so lucky to have you. 💙
Happy 3 years!

04/29/2026

Appreciation/announcement*
We have spent the last month without a front desk person, and it’s been rough 😅 Thankfully, our patients and families have been amazing and patient. Shout out to Lauren, who has been working double- duty to keep everything on track - we are so grateful 🥰 While we searched for our next team member, it became even more apparent to me just how special our team is. We coudnt just fill an empty position, we needed the perfect fit 💫We needed someone who believed in our mission to treat each patient through a holistic lens AND we needed a match in terms of professionalism, compassion, and that *extra*special*something* that each Chat Speech team member (and our amazing suite mates and ) posses.
So this post is to celebrate how proud I am of our team, thank our community for their patience, and breathe a sigh of relief that we have found our perfect match. The best things are worth waiting for 💕 Please stay tuned to help us welcome the newest smiling face to Chat Speech 💕

02/26/2026

Join our fun and impactful team 💕 We are looking for a front desk associate to join our team. Ideal candidate enjoys supporting a holistic speech & myofunctional therapy team,
Experience in medical/therapy setting preferred,
Proficient in excel, Familiarity with EMR software, ability to thrive in a fast paced environment & exceptional communication skills

Interested Candidates, please send CV to [email protected] to be considered

02/09/2026

Signs can appear at birth or in the first year - like difficulty nursing or bottle feeding, drooling, snoring, open mouth posture, mouth breathing. You may not piece together the sings until later, when you see crowded baby teeth, picky eating, drooling, fidgeting or constant 'on the go' activity.....or it might not be until they are even older with impulsivity, anger, headaches, difficulty at school.
// Early intervention is best, but its never too late. If you are noticing these symptoms, its time for your airway journey. Our myofunctional therapists can help you get started.

02/05/2026

What makes Chat Speech different?

We’re not just treating speech sounds or feeding skills—we’re asking why they’re happening in the first place.

Our team of Speech-Language Pathologists has advanced training in orofacial myofunctional therapy, which means we take a holistic, airway-focused approach to care. We assess the entire orofacial complex (including the upper airway) and treat things like mouth breathing, low tongue posture, tongue thrust, picky eating, drooling, TMJ, and orthodontic relapse.

Many of these are signs of sleep-disordered breathing, which can have serious health impacts—affecting brain development, learning, attention, and behavior in children, and increasing cardiovascular risk in adults.

If this sounds familiar for you or your child, please reach out.
We’d love to help 💛

And our biggest request?
👉 Share this post.
Because too often we hear: “I wish I knew you existed sooner.”

01/28/2026

"A lack of sleep can damage brain neurons, particularly in the prefrontal cortex region. This may be due to a decrease in oxygen and an increase in carbon dioxide levels, interference with sleep's restorative processes, and disruption in the balance of cellular and chemical systems. Inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity --- the classic trademarks of ADHD --- can result."

Myofunctional therapy can reduce sleep apneae events by more than 50% in children
And is 🔑 to preventing mouth breathing and snoring /apnea after tonsil and adenoid removal. Non invasive & holistic.

https://www.childrensairwayfirst.org/post/does-apnea-lead-to-adhd-in-kids?fbclid=IwAR0zJrHfkQPqywUcKcPMm1C2Lmxwb6e0XsouWlKsXxMzMnoEP4jpdhjnor0cpntdvh

What if we thought about dental health as the foundation for our children's physical health?

01/18/2026

Wow. Look. At. This. Group.
It lights my souls just looking at this picture 🤍 To be surrounded by such passionate and brilliant professionals 🤍
We had the pleasure of celebrating our grand opening alongside an incredible group of pioneering professionals. In addition to our speech pathologists/myofunctional therapists, were the areas best dentists, orthodontists, physical therapists, lactation consultants, chiropractors, oral surgeon and a craniosacral/massage therapist.

Together, we’re redefining care through collaboration and a holistic approach to airway & sleep health, addressing related concerns and oral-facial dysfunction at the root.

We are grateful to build a community focused on whole-body health and better outcomes for all ages🤍

Pictured: Left to Right Back Row: Pediatric Dentist Dr Lawrence Kotlow, Orthodontist Dr VIctoria Taylor, Elizabeth Briggs SLP/QOM, Sleep Specialist/Dentist Dr Kristen Geist, Emma Bagnato SLP, Rebecca LaBombard Certified Lactation Consultant, Chiropractor Dr Cortnee Whipple, Physical Therapist Dr Gina Ellis, Pediatric Dentist Dr Dan Caban. Left to Right Front Row: Massage Therapist/Craniosacral Therapist Heather Wamsley, Bri Nassar SLP, Physical Therapist Dr Heather Tramblay-Croteau, Amy Fealey Certified Lactation Consultant, Kate Chatigny SLP/QOM, Dentist Dr Kendra Zappia.

Not Pictured: Oral Surgeon Dr Mohamed Bayoumy, Dentist Dr Gaetano Gialanella, Chirpractors Dr Amy Donovan, Dr Eric Samson, Dr Healiea Palmer, Orthodontists Dr Andrew Palermo, Dr. Timmothy Esmay, Physical Therapists Dr. Ashley O’Connor, Dr Alyssa Knotek and Kim Fahey.

01/17/2026

Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated our grand opening.

01/04/2026

Prematurity and high narrow palates

It is well known that premature infants are at greater risk of developing obstructive Sleep Disturbed Breathing (SDB). These sleep disorders are well linked to increased risk of developmental, neurocognitive and behavioural problems in children.

We also know that narrow high palates are a risk factor for SDB.

Last year, a research study of 244 premature infants exploring the links between high arch palates, the development of SDB and developmental outcomes at 2 years, was published by Huang et al. in the journal Sleep Medicine.

***

What were the findings?

62% of pre-term babies had a high narrow palate at birth, compared to 10% of the control group (infants born 37-40 weeks).

The high palate persisted during the two year follow up period.

At the end of two years, 79% of the premature infant group had Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) compared to 10% of the control group.

Within the subgroup of premature infants with narrow high palate, the incidence of OSA was 84.7%.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months using Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the Denver Developmental Screening Tests (DDT).

There was a greater proportion of children with developmental delay in the premature infant group at every stage. Within the premature infant group, there was a significantly greater proportion of children with developmental delay in the narrow high palate group compared to the normal palate group.

Overall, the data supports that high narrow palate is an important risk factor in the development of abnormal breathing.

***

Why is there a link with prematurity and high palate?

The last three months of pregnancy are critical for the fetus to train normal reflexes and prepare for the functions of sucking, swallowing, chewing and nasal breathing.

Prematurity interrupts this training time, leading to incomplete muscle development. This includes the tongue, which needs to function correctly to stimulate the midpalate suture and properly develop the palate structure.

The palate is the floor of the nose. When it is high and narrow, the nasal passages are narrowed and there is increased resistance to nasal breathing. It promotes nasal disuse and the development of mouth breathing over time. Mouth breathing is also associated with poor stimulation of palate development. The cycle of dysfunction and poor structural development is perpetuated.

The palate is also an important part of the skeletal framework that supports our collapsible tube of airway muscles. A narrow palate offers reduced support. The upper airway is more prone to collapse during sleep when its muscles (including the tongue) are more relaxed.

***

As a dentist involved in with managing adult OSA, I see the narrow high palate in many of my patients. I often find it despairing to listen to the impacts it has had on people’s health, mood and quality of life and wish the problem had been intervened earlier.

I believe normalizing both orofacial muscle functions and palate structures as early in life as possible is a very worthwhile goal.

Of great interest to me is that the same group of researchers has previously shared data demonstrating that myofunctional therapy exercises to stimulate more normal oral function helps normalise palate development and breathing over time. (Huang et al. 2012)

They excluded a group of children who were having myofunctional therapy from the premature infant group in the 2019 published study for this reason.

I have a special interest and am closely following the research in this area. I hope to learn more approaches with interdisciplinary colleagues to help this high-risk group in the future.

I also hope to see more focus on prevention as early as conception – and specifically through addressing maternal sleep disturbed breathing, a known risk factor in pre-term births.

12/31/2025

We are excited to feature this talented artist in our beautiful space

We were lucky to catch up with MaryK Weeks recently and have shared our conversation below. MaryK, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilien