Hi Fiona, I have no idea if you will return to this or not. Thanks for your response to my query about tongue tie.
I need you to know that what you said about older children having to have revision under GA is not correct. There are a couple of dentists in the UK who have trained with Dr Kotlow who is a leading expert in this field.
They do laser revisions using only local anaesthetic. It is essential to have the patient awake during a revision, otherwise how can they assess tongue function? My son has had this done, so I have first hand experience of the procedure. He was fine, not at all traumatised and says he recommends that anybody needing revision should have it done because his tongue feels much better now.
I get the feeling that perhaps you are not up to date with developments in this field and are giving dated information to your clients which is a shame because as a SALT, you are in a prime position to spot tongue ties and help children who are struggling because of it.
You didn't answer my question about posterior tongue ties. Can you spot one? Often the tongue will look "normal" to the untrained eye and sadly many HCPs miss them.
I have had to dig and dig to find decent information for myself regarding DS1, basically the mainstream is woefully lacking in knowledge, sorry but it's true.
His ties went undiagnosed until he was 6yo and have caused no end of problems for him, including distortion of his orofacial structure and associated problems. There is a LOT more to this than speech and feeding.
If you are interested in further reading, I would recommend Carmen Fernando (she is a SALT), Dr Kotlow, Alison Hazelbaker, Dr Brian Palmer DDS, Catherine Genna Watson. For starters.
Yes, you say that tied kids can make the sounds required in English by positioning their tongues slightly differently. This is compensating. Compensating has knock on effects on the jaw/head/neck/shoulders in fact the whole body. Adults who have had revisions have talked about the instant relief of finally having the tension removed.
Imagine there was restriction in any other part of the body, I dunno, say your legs were tied together and only a doctor could free them. What would you think if a doctor said no, I'm not freeing the restriction,it's ok because you can shuffle along or maybe hop along with your feet together, OR WORSE STILL - no, the restriction in your legs is not the cause of your inability to walk properly. I don't know about you, but I'd be hopping and shuffling at top speed off to someone who could help me restore proper function in my legs!
It's no different with the tongue.