Fabi Moy, SLP IBCLC

Fabi Moy, SLP IBCLC Speech Language Pathologist, Intl Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Feeding Therapist, Specialist in Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders

08/10/2026

When your insurance denies a frenectomy as "experimental" or "not medically necessary" — they are contradicting every major professional medical society. Here's what they're supposed to follow.

Four major professional organizations have issued clear guidance on tongue-tie diagnosis and treatment.

The American Academy of Pediatrics — 2024 clinical report — recommends evaluation and treatment when functional impairment is present.

The American Academy of Otolaryngology — 2020 clinical consensus statement — endorses surgical correction when functional impairment is documented.

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine — 2021 position statement — supports frenotomy when feeding difficulties are present.

The International Consortium of Oral Ankylofrenula Professionals — 2024 comprehensive practice guidelines — covers assessment and treatment for all ages.

Calling this procedure experimental contradicts all four of these organizations. And a 2025 study in JAMA Otolaryngology found widespread misinformation about tongue-tie online — insurance reviewers may be influenced by the same low-quality sources.

Final episode: I'm giving you the exact appeal language — the clinical framework you can hand to your insurer, your pediatrician, and your child's surgical team.

Bookmark this and bring it to your appeal hearing.

Chrysanthemum is so much more than a story about teasing. It’s one of the most powerful K–2 read-alouds for building emp...
08/07/2026

Chrysanthemum is so much more than a story about teasing. It’s one of the most powerful K–2 read-alouds for building empathy, perspective taking, emotional resilience, and social understanding.

Children follow Chrysanthemum through pride, shame, silence, and eventually restoration, and that emotional journey is exactly what makes this book such a rich literacy experience.

This is Theory of Mind work wrapped inside a beautiful picture book.

Save this carousel for your classroom, therapy room, or home library.

08/06/2026

Chrysanthemum is not just a story about a little mouse and her name.

It’s a powerful opportunity for children to practice empathy, emotional vocabulary, perspective taking, and social understanding.

These are foundational skills for literacy and healthy peer relationships.

Books like this help children learn how people feel, not just how words sound.

What’s your favorite social-emotional book for preschoolers?

08/04/2026

Before children can talk about big emotions, they first need simple emotional vocabulary.

The Feelings Book by Todd Parr is such a wonderful starting place for toddlers because it helps children begin labeling emotions in a safe, playful, developmentally appropriate way.

And that foundation matters deeply for social communication, literacy, empathy, and later character comprehension.

Save this recommendation for your toddler bookshelf.

08/03/2026

The insurance company denied your child's frenectomy. But they'll pay for years of orthodontics, speech therapy, and sleep studies — all of which could have been prevented.

The tongue is the scaffold of the jaw. Where it rests determines how the upper jaw develops.

A 2025 study in the European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry showed that upper jaw development measurably improved after lingual frenectomy combined with myofunctional therapy.

A multi-center study found that short lingual frenulum is directly associated with malocclusion across multiple patient populations.

Systematic reviews confirm that untreated oral myofunctional disorders drive structural changes in the jaw and ongoing speech sound disorders into adolescence.

Ages 6 to 12 are the critical window. Tongue restriction during this developmental period has compounding skeletal consequences. Early intervention now prevents more invasive orthodontic and surgical treatment later.

Denying a frenectomy isn't saving money. It's deferring costs — and compounding harm.

Next episode: I'm walking you through exactly what the professional guidelines say — because your insurance company is supposed to follow them.

Save + share with your orthodontist and insurance reviewer.

Most people think Wonder is a book about being kind.It’s actually a book about understanding people.What makes this stor...
07/31/2026

Most people think Wonder is a book about being kind.

It’s actually a book about understanding people.

What makes this story so powerful is that we don't just see Auggie's experience, we see the same events through multiple perspectives.

That structure helps readers practice Theory of Mind: understanding that different people can experience the exact same situation in very different ways.

That's one of the most important literacy and social-emotional skills we can teach our children.

Save this post for your middle-grade reading list and follow for more literacy recommendations.

07/29/2026

Children do not need to immediately eat a food in order to benefit from interacting with it.

Looking at it.
Touching it.
Smelling it.
Learning descriptors.
Watching it being prepared.

All of these experiences help build familiarity, comfort, vocabulary, and positive associations with food.

Save this reminder for your next mealtime struggle.

07/27/2026

Does your school-age child snore? Sleep with their mouth open? Wake up tired? Their tongue-tie might be why — and most pediatricians have never connected these dots.

In 2021, a study published in Sleep — one of the most respected journals in sleep medicine — identified reduced tongue mobility as an unrecognized risk factor for childhood obstructive sleep apnea.

In 2025, a systematic review in The Laryngoscope confirmed that ankyloglossia is correlated with pediatric sleep-disordered breathing.

Here's why: when the tongue can't rest in the roof of the mouth, the airway collapses more easily during sleep. This drives mouth breathing, poor sleep quality, and behavioral consequences that often get mistaken for ADHD.

Denying a frenectomy for a child with documented tongue-tie AND sleep-disordered breathing contradicts peer-reviewed evidence from multiple systematic reviews published between 2021 and 2025.

Next episode: We're talking jaw development — why treating tongue-tie between ages 6 and 12 can prevent thousands of dollars in orthodontic work later.

Share this with a parent who's been told "it's normal."

07/24/2026

When we talk about the "invisible child," we're usually referring to the sibling of a child with a disability, chronic illness, or significant medical needs.

What many people don't realize is that those experiences don't automatically disappear in adulthood.

That's why I was so encouraged to discover support groups specifically for adult siblings.

Many adults are still processing childhood experiences, caregiving roles, family dynamics, and feelings they may never have had space to explore.

Support isn't just for children, it's for the whole lifespan.

Save this post and share it with someone who may benefit from adult sibling support resources.

07/20/2026

Parents are told: "It's just a speech thing. They'll grow out of it." That's wrong on both counts — and I have the research to prove it.

Tongue-tie doesn't just affect how your child talks. It affects four systems.

First: feeding. Restricted tongue mobility means an improper seal — leading to aerophagia, reflux, gas, and GERD-like symptoms in infants that often get misdiagnosed and medicated instead of treated at the source.

Second: speech. Multiple systematic reviews confirm frenectomy improves articulation outcomes. The AAP and AAO-HNS both support evaluation and treatment.

Third: sleep. Reduced tongue mobility is now identified as an unrecognized risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea in school-age children — published in the journal Sleep.

Fourth: jaw development. Tongue posture literally drives how the jaw grows. Untreated restriction at ages 6 to 12 has compounding skeletal consequences.

Next episode: I'm showing you exactly what the research says about tongue-tie and sleep — because this is the one that surprises families the most.

Pin this for your next pediatrician appointment.

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