Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Perry.
Hi Bonnie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
The TL;DR is that I keep walking through open doors until one slams in my face. Then I turn around and try the next door!
I pursued the field of Speech Pathology with the hope to help others. In a broad sense, upon initiation of my studies, this could have been stroke victims, nonverbal children, those with feeding challenges, or severe diagnoses. I was not sure where I would work at the start of my career. Then, I stumbled into awareness of my own flaws and began working to improve myself. This then became a passion that I wanted to share to others. Helping them find relief more easily than the self-diagnostician avenue I had to take.
Within the short span of time between my undergraduate studies and graduate studies, I found the gap between my lower and upper central incisors widening. I saw this as a concern but did not know how to fix it. I was told the only fix would be invasive jaw surgery. I knew this could not be the only avenue and decided to don my investigator hat. In my studies for my final exam, there was one paragraph speaking to the utility of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy. This approach correlated exactly to my situation. Low resting tongue posture, open mouth breathing, lips struggling to occlude. I possessed a tongue-thrust swallow pattern but lacked the clinical skills to break myself of this habit. I had struggled with sleep latency and efficiency since adolescence. I felt the tension within my mandibular joints worsening and watched the gap between my teeth grow wider. It was disheartening to say the least. The lack of clarity in my production of /s/ phonemes was embarrassing as a soon-to-be SLP. I had to make the change. Braces were then adhered for the second time in my life. I made the investment for my own Myofunctional Therapy, opening my eyes to be aware of patterns of compensation and the world of possibility within Myofunctional Therapy. From this point, my dream and direction was sparked towards a practice of my own. I enrolled in courses and training for Myofunctional Therapy, Oral Motor, and Feeding Therapy for infants and adults. I learned incredible skills here, then translated these skills and made the investment in my own business practice. I now hold a flourishing practice, Perry Myofunctional Therapy, PLLC – providing children and adults with skills to build oral musculature and improve their life. Whether for feeding, articulation concerns, a severely tethered frenulum, or adults suffering from sleep apnea or TMD, I am thrilled to be in the growing world of Myofunctional Disorders.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I am presented with daily challenges on both the patient end and the entrepreneur end. I continually learn of new areas of challenge in my own prognosis of having an Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder. I now have the skills to help retrain the habits of my oral resting posture and use of my tongue. However, this does not come without the side effects that naturally occur following years of poor jaw and airway development and misuse of orofacial musculature. I continually am working to improve my practice, by first working to improve myself! I believe it is such an asset to understand the pain and hardship that can come with a prolonged OMD in my practice of helping adults diminish their ailments and assisting children in promoting proper development for avoidance of these ailments. This niche area of the field is vast and rapidly growing. However, education is still lacking, awareness is not developed, and advocacy and streamlined methodology have not yet arrived. There is so much left for me to learn as a clinician, but I am optimistic in the possibility to further this field within my time and improve others’ lives while doing so.
As you know, we’re big fans of Perry Myofunctional Therapy PLLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Perry Myofunctional Therapy PLLC is formed with the intention to bring relief to individuals all over Texas, just as Myofunctional Therapy did for myself. I am a Speech Language Pathologist, first and foremost. I love working with children from toddler to teen. I can help in so many ways in this career, whether it be with them saying their first word, overcoming feeding challenges, or turning a “w” into an “r.” I love adults as well! Whether it be a post-stroke inability to get words from the brain through the mouth cohesively or difficulty in swallowing liquids. I still love working with all areas of Speech Pathology. Myofunctional Therapy combines all of my passions. I can work with individuals age 4 to age 100. Everyone can benefit from intervention in tongue misuse. I can access a much wider span of individuals with the ability to do virtual Teletherapy sessions instructing the exercises. Most of all, I can bring the relief that I found through retraining my own tongue in hopes that others will experience the lifelong benefits of Myofunctional Therapy on their health. The exercises and retraining is not always easy, but awareness and diligence are key in restoring the intended function of the tongue. Working with Dentists, Orthodontists, ENTs, Myofascial Release Specialists, and other Speech Therapists is what has made the dream become a reality. The continuum of care from a team perspective is crucial. Additionally, the patients I work with and their families have become family to me, too. I really get to become part of their life and their struggles as we meet on a regular basis. This field is so rewarding, and I will continually strive to gain further expertise in the coordination of oral motor skills for speech, feeding, and orofacial myofunctional use.
What are your plans for the future?
I truly hope that in 10, 20 years, the world of Myofunctional Disorders is well understood within our society. As research increases and awareness is on the uptick, I hope that the function of the facial muscles is not overlooked. It’s easy to slap a Band-Aid on the problem, but shouldn’t we look at the true origin of the problem first? Physical Therapy for joints and muscles anywhere else in the body is widely accepted, why are we overlooking the joints of the jaw and face? I plan to provide further educational opportunities and become more involved in the education of the community, professionals I collaborate with, and soon-to-be SLPs (Speech speech-language pathologists). I look forward to the day that this field is recognized easily. I hope to advocate for this recognition within my time in the field as I expand my doors to welcome as many patients as I can take on.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.perrymyofunctionaltherapy.com
- Instagram: @perrymyofunctionaltherapy
- Facebook: Perry Myofunctional Therapy
