Testimonials.

It has been my privilege and pleasure over the years to work with Robyn Merkel Walsh, whom I consider at the top in her specialty as a speech pathologist and Certified Orofacial Myologist®.

She is a nationally recognized leader, a prolific author and tireless lecturer, and has helped to develop this rapidly emerging field. Clinically, she is an astute diagnostician, with evaluations that are accurate, comprehensive and detail oriented. Her therapeutic interventions are focused and highly beneficial to her patients.

She has my highest praise and professional support.

I don't have enough words of praise about Robyn! I have had the great and distinct honor to be able to work closely with Robyn over many years in treating patients, lecturing, and publishing in her textbook.

Robyn is one of the most highly regarded of my 'mentors.' She continues on a never ending quest to educate parents and professionals while at the same time caring for her patients as if they are her own children.

Robyn is responsible for increasing my knowledge and understanding of the complex functional components of Tethered Oral Tissues. She has had a very strong influence in my surgical approach in the treatment of these issues from start to finish.

As a first time parent, of course you're constantly second guessing yourself. When our son was born 9 years ago, everything seemed normal. We introduced purees around 6 months and he did fine. But he was just not interested in anything beyond purees – no puffs, no yogurt melts, no baby cookies, not even bananas. His pediatrician said he was likely just picky.

By 18 months his pediatrician was still saying give him time. By age 2, I told her this is not normal — he's still eating baby food purees and refused to give up his bottles. It was then she suggested a feeding therapist. A few moms recommended Robyn Walsh in Ridgefield. We met, she evaluated, wrote up her report and suggested the course of action.

For the next three years, I brought my son to “Ms. Robyn” weekly. We slowly introduced solid foods in the tiniest bits. I was a nervous wreck when it came time for Kindergarten. Sometime between pre-K and Kindergarten the switch flipped. At a school Movie Night he was sitting with his friends eating Goldfish crackers. By first grade I was filling out the school lunch order for a full month at a time!

The cherry on top was Disney World in December 2021. I texted Robyn right from the restaurant with a photo of my son proudly holding up his “Clean Plate Award” sticker. The kid who wouldn't eat now has the appetite of a teenager. Robyn's patience and steady work truly helped him turn the corner. I cannot thank her enough.

My 5 year old daughter is non-verbal and autistic. When we first started seeing Robyn in 2021, she had significant feeding issues and could only eat pureed foods cooked at home.

Thanks to Robyn's oral motor and feeding therapy, my daughter is now eating a broad range of adult foods cooked both at home and at restaurants. This is an accomplishment that would not have been possible without Robyn's therapy.

What sets Robyn apart: her experience and expertise are beyond the majority of other feeding therapists I've spoken to in NY and NJ. Through virtual sessions she taught me how to practice oral motor therapy with my daughter at home — this has been critical to her success. And Robyn always problem-solves and develops approaches customized to each child. Robyn always finds a way!

I recommend Robyn to any parent looking to help their child improve oral motor skills, whether in support of speech or feeding.

I will always be very grateful for the day I came across one of Robyn's posts on a Facebook group last summer. Taking our almost 5 year old to her for an evaluation has been one of the most pivotal moments in our journey.

She gave us her diagnostic impressions and steered us towards a number of specialists to inquire further. After meeting them all and forming an amazing team of specialists that actually talk to each other, we are finally on a path that is working and we see great improvements in our child. Thank you, Robyn!

In addition to being a leader in the field of oral motor therapy, Robyn has a passion for her work and is deeply committed to her patients. Robyn has worked diligently to understand the needs of our non-verbal and autistic son and developed and executed a plan specific to him.

A great deal of our son's progress in communication is due to Robyn's efforts. We would recommend her to any parent whose child is struggling with speech or oral motor skills.

We were very fortunate to have worked with Robyn Merkel-Walsh for so many years. My son, a person with Autism, Dysarthria, and motor planning deficits including Apraxia, really required the jaw strengthening and stability provided by Oral Placement Therapy (OPT).

The OPT tools and exercises provided the proper “imposing and teaching of the motor plan” required for my son to learn how to place his lips and mouth in the right position to produce given sounds. Robyn's techniques taught me how to reinforce words and simple sentences first practiced in the office. Her work provided the foundation for improved speech and communication practices that we carry on to this day.

If your child has any oral motor or feeding issue you've come to the right place. Robyn knows absolutely everything there is to know about this field because she literally helped develop it! Robyn has countless good ideas and recommendations and she really cares about the kids she treats.

Working with Robyn has been a game changer for my 4-year old son with autism, as well as TOTs, feeding issues, sensory issues and apraxia. When we came to her a little over a year ago, my son was barely able to form any sounds and had an aversion to most food textures. As a result of our work with Robyn, his ability to form sounds has really taken off, and his tolerance for various foods has increased dramatically.

Robyn has also helped tremendously with my 12-year old son, who is on the spectrum, has TOTs and stammers. The exercises we do with him have made a huge difference — eating is now a lot less of a challenge, and the tongue placement skills he's gained have had such a positive impact on his speech fluency.

As a parent, I've been so grateful for what I have learned from Robyn about ways to foster oral motor function development in both my boys between therapy sessions. I am incredibly thankful to have a professional like Robyn on our team.

Attended your course yesterday. I experienced in my own practice everything you described regarding the link between tongue thrust and articulation deficits. And I was blown away by the same link between tongue tie and articulation. I could see it in my own patients and I didn't know there was so much research to support this theory.

So grateful for your work. You confirmed what I always thought was going on with my speech kids but could never adequately identify. You and Lori have now added yet another layer of armor to my approach with articulation impairments and beyond. Incredible.