My tt son managed to breastfeed (though it was a struggle for the first 
7 weeks, and was always more difficult than his non-tongue-tied sister). 
He had speech therapy for 7 years (from ages 3-10), which improved but 
did not correct his speech articulation. None of his speech therapists 
ever noticed his tongue-tie, they all wrote "oral structures are 
sufficient for the production of speech sounds" or something similar in 
his evaluations.

We had his frenulum divided when he developed sleep apnea at age 10. His 
speech was immediately perfect after the first day of guarding his 
tongue due to soreness. We also had his tonsils removed to provide an 
emergency airway, and his palate expanded to make room for his teeth and 
improve his airway; then he had major orthodontia. (Thanks to Dr. Brian 
Palmer for this care plan!)

Tens of thousands of dollars or more could have been saved on that kid 
had we known to have his frenulum snipped when he was a newborn! His 
tongue mobility is still not perfect, 10 years of barely moving the 
tongue has patterned his brain, but his speech articulation is great. He 
now is a college student and sings beautifully (his singing voice 
improved too), and his intended career requires lots of public speaking.

I don't know if there is still the possibility for the palate to spread 
if the tongue-tie is treated after infancy, but it certainly does 
improve speech.

Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  NYC

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