Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Howard.
Hi Yvonne, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
The journey to opening my practice started over 15 years ago when I first became a pediatric occupational therapist. I started my career working for a pediatric outpatient medical program and early intervention program. My caseload consisted of working with children from birth to 21 years of age with a variety of conditions such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscle dystrophy, brain injury, stroke, Down syndrome, Autism, and developmental delays.
My life slowed down a little with work when I became a mom in 2012 and had my second son in 2014. I made my children the priority while still trying to work part-time. My younger son experienced significant difficulty breastfeeding and bottle feeding along with reflux. I was not able to get any answers or help from my pediatrician or lactation specialists. This was a very stressful time trying to feed my son despite all my years and experience treating children with feeding difficulties. I turned to the internet for help and learned about “tongue ties.” I took my son to one of the two dentists who performed releases within an hour of us at that time. My son had a classic heart-shaped tongue that went undiagnosed for 6 months. This was the cause of his difficulty feeding and reflux. We had his oral ties released, and within a month, his feeding improved. Following my younger son’s surgery, I decided to have my older son assessed by a dentist trained in oral restrictions. My older son did not breastfeed long, which I attributed to my milk supply. He had speech delays and was a messy eater. He presented with a lot of tension in his body. Little did I know that these were all symptoms or oral restrictions. My older son was diagnosed with oral restrictions and released at 4 years old. Unfortunately, he developed multiple cavities and a high palate due to poor oral resting posture and impaired lingual mobility. At that time, I was not aware that children should have therapy before and after a frenectomy. After not seeing improvement after his release, I decided to seek help from an occupational therapist at a local clinic. Little did I know that not all therapists know how to improve oral function following a frenectomy. This led me down a rabbit hole of learning about oral restrictions and how they impact so many things. I felt like I had an “ah-ha moment” after taking my first class on treating children with oral restrictions. At the same time, I knew I needed to learn more. I began to look at all my clients differently and wonder if some of their feeding delays and difficulties could be attributed to oral restrictions. This led me to take a deeper dive into learning about tethered oral tissue and airway.
Fast forward to 2019, I decided to become an occupational therapy vendor for the Regional Center of Orange County after many years working in early intervention. I started to notice that many of the children I was seeing started to have feeding issues way before they were referred to me. Many of the children I was seeing were struggling to transition to solids or were picky eaters. Most of them started to have feeding issues as babies, but their doctors did not make the appropriate referrals or took the “wait and see” approach. I began to notice that many of these children with feeding difficulties had oral restrictions. I also noticed there was a lack of services available to children and limited providers trained in feeding and oral restrictions. Some of the local therapy clinics had a 6-month waiting list, and that is too long to wait for a baby that is struggling to breastfeed.
In 2021, I decided that I wanted to help more families. I wanted to provide services to these families that were seeking answers for their babies struggling to breastfeed or transitioning to solids. Early identification and intervention are so important when it comes to feeding and development. I opened my practice in 2022, all while continuing to work for the county and providing occupational therapy early intervention services for the Regional Center of Orange County. I took a big risk by investing all my time and heart in creating Baby and Beyond Therapy.
Over the past 2 years, I have furthered my education by obtaining my Breastfeeding Specialist Certification and Advance Feeding and Swallow Certification. The comprehensive training that I have obtained over the past 18 years has allowed me to become a specialized pediatric occupational therapist trained in addressing feeding, oral motor skills, tethered oral tissues, oral myofunctional disorders, sensory processing, and developmental skills. Through this process of opening Baby and Beyond Therapy, I have been lucky to meet other professionals who share similar goals in helping families, specifically babies and children with tethered oral tissues. My goal for Baby and Beyond Therapy is to be a resource for families and give them the tools and support they need to feel confident that they can foster their child’s development.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road to opening Baby and Beyond Therapy has had some ups and downs as most businesses do. The hardest part so far has been learning all the ins and outs of what it takes to run a business. Balancing a healthy work-life is sometimes challenging. My most important job of all will always be a mom to my boys. I typically play catch-up with clients or collaborate with other colleagues while my kids are at soccer practice or asleep.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a pediatric occupational therapist with 18 years of experience working with children from birth to 21 years of age with complex medical conditions. I have worked for California Children’s Services since 2005. Most of the children I treat through this program have neurological involvement, orthopedic conditions, and musculoskeletal conditions. I also provide occupational therapy services for the Regional Center of Orange County. This program provides early intervention services for kids from birth to 3 who are presenting with a developmental delay. I have specialized training in oral motor, feeding, breastfeeding, transitioning to solids, tethered oral tissues (TOTs), myofunctional therapy, sensory processing, development, and craniosacral facial therapy (CFT). I am known for putting my heart into my work and as a great resource that shares information to better the lives of the families I work with. My clients know they can count on me to be there for support.
We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
I don’t typically consider myself a risk taker. So, opening a private practice is something way out of my comfort zone and something I said for years I would never do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.babyandbeyondtherapy.com
- Instagram: @babyandbeyondtherapy
Image Credits
Camryn Clair Photography
