Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt like airway and breathwork live in some mysterious corner of our field that only a handful of people truly understand ♀️
Well… this episode might just be your flashlight. ✨
Theresa chats with with the incredibly knowledgeable—and wonderfully down-to-earth—Kaitlyn Shrum, MS, CCC-SLP, QOM, IBT, who wears many hats: certified myofunctional therapist, breathing method instructor, published researcher, children’s book author… and yes, the longtime SLP of Theresa’s own son.
Together, they dive deep into the why and how behind airway-focused assessments, the ripple effect of breathing on sleep, feeding, growth, and overall function, and how SLPs can start paying attention to “the basics” that sometimes get missed—like whether our patients can actually breathe through their nose.
If you’ve ever wondered how to incorporate breathwork into your sessions (without needing fancy equipment or a full-on respiratory background), Kaitlyn breaks it all down in a way that’s accessible, evidence-based, and immediately helpful.
Bonus? She’s got a brand-new course and an adorable children’s book that make these concepts click for both clinicians and kiddos.
Get ready for a conversation that’s equal parts nerdy, nurturing, and necessary.
Press play to explore:
- What Kaitlyn looks for during her airway evaluations
- Why sleep and breathing belong at the bottom of the clinical pyramid
- How messy eaters might be trying to tell us something deeper
- Tools you can use TOMORROW to start supporting nasal breathing and regulation
Tune in and take a breath—you’re in for a good one.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | iHeartRadio | RSS | More
Kaitlyn Shrum MA, CCC-SLP, QOM, CMT, certBBM is the owner and founder of Southern Speech & Myo. She graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Kaitlyn holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, is a Certified Myofunctional Therapist (CMT) and is a Qualified Orofacial Myologist (QOM). Kaitlyn is also a certified Buteyko Breathing Method (certBBM) instructor. She has completed continuing education focusing on dysphagia, orofacial myofunctional disorders, Buteyko Breathing, TOTS Training, the SOFFI method, Beckman Oral Motor Protocol, and the Kaufman approach to treat childhood apraxia of speech. Kaitlyn is the author of Frankie Goes to Camp a children’s book on breathwork techniques. She has been published, for her research on pediatric sleep-disordered breathing, phonemic awareness in children with disabilities, and the benefits of dialogic book reading for vocabulary development. Additionally, Kaitlyn is a board member of the Oral Motor Institute and provides mentorship and continuing education to other SLPs, OTs, and RDHs.
