Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Selman.
Hi Robin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Robin and I have been a speech-language pathologist for 14 years. I was raised in Pflugerville, Texas when it was still a small town and separate from Austin. I moved away from Texas for almost a decade to get my master’s degree from the University of Georgia, get married and start a family. When my daughter was young I decided to move back to Texas to be closer to family, so I found a job at a private pediatric therapy practice that happened to be right next door to the restaurant where I had my first job as a teenager.
As a speech language pathologist I have the ability to work with a wide variety of patients, but over time have furthered my education to become specialized in areas and disorders that I feel a special connection with and enjoy treating the most.
In April of 2024 life gave me the perfect opportunity to take a risk. I started Hometown Myo, PLLC as a side project while I continued to work full time at a private practice. The goal of Hometown Myo was to offer a different approach to private speech therapy. Owning my own practice, I had the ability to offer patients a much more personalized experience, taking extra time to talk through concerns when needed, advocate and collaborate with other providers, and help support parents during what can often be a difficult and trying time.
My side project grew quicky, and in July of 2024 I rented a single room office space and decided to make Hometown Myo my full time job. I specialize in treating myofunctional disorders and have excellent working relationships with several pediatric dentists in town whom I work with to optimize outcomes for tongue tie revisions. I also address feeding difficulties in infants and children, whether it be trouble taking a bottle, having a hard time transitioning to table foods, or being a picky eater. While those are my passions, I also love working with little ones who are speech delayed and helping parents better understand how their child learns and how best to support them.
Just over a year ago I was feeling stressed and burned out, and missed having time with my family. I now love going to work everyday knowing that each child I see is getting the absolute best therapy that I am able to provide.
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?
When has starting a new business ever been easy? Having worked in private clinics for 10 years, I had a reasonable understanding of the set up, requirements, and day to day tasks. I knew how to evaluate a child, create and implement a treatment program. What I was lacking was the belief in myself that I could make this dream a reality. Given support from family and friends, I was able to tackle each new challenge of scheduling, creating a therapy space, and navigating insurance. Each small success increased my confidence and allowed Hometown Myo to become what it is today. I continue to face new challenges every day, but now with an “I’ve got this” attitude.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
One of the biggest driving forces in starting my own practice was how my beliefs about traditional speech therapy changed when I learned about the field of orofacial myology and myofunctional therapy. Simply put, the goals of myofunctional therapy are to optimize oral resting posture, establish nasal breathing and correct the swallowing pattern. Speech therapists trained in myofunctional therapy work as part of a multidisciplinary team, including dentists, orthodontists and ENTs, to correct underlying structural abnormalities and retrain oral musculature to improve oral functioning, which can affect speech, eating, breathing and sleeping.
As a speech therapist of picky eaters and children who had been in therapy for years due to articulation errors with little progress, I quickly realized that addressing the underlying dysfunction was key to improving outcomes. A toddler will not be able to enjoy eating a variety of foods if their tongue does not have the mobility to allow them to safely manage them. A child will not be able to produce an ‘R’ in conversational speech if their tongue does not have the correct starting spot and underlying stability. Adding a myofunctional therapy approach to a very structured traditional therapy setting was difficult and frustrating to say the least, but I was finally beginning to see the effects it could have on patients and their progress. It significantly cut down on time spent targeting specific sounds or skills, allowing them to complete therapy after weeks or months instead of years.
The mission of Hometown Myo is to offer a unique and deeply personalized speech therapy experience as opposed to the often more standardized approaches found in larger pediatric therapy clinics.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Almost every parent who brings their child in for a speech or feeding evaluation expresses concern that they’ve done something wrong or don’t know how to help their child. This is particularly evident with parents of newborns struggling to eat. As a parent, I vividly recall the terrifying first few days of trying to keep a tiny human alive. As a speech therapist, my goal is to ensure parents feel educated, supported, and empowered to help their child grow and thrive. Counseling and supporting parents is one of my favorite and most invaluable aspects of my job.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hometownmyo.com
