Director, AOMT
Samantha Weaver
Myofunctional therapist, educator, and lifelong listener.
A practicing speech-language pathologist and myofunctional therapist who helps patients, from toddlers to adults, move from where they are to where they want to be. Patients are her greatest teacher.
- 15+Years at the intersection of
breathing, sleep & development - CCC-SLPIn active practice & still learning
from patients - 250+Myo Coffee Klatsch
community sessions led
The Art and Science of Myofunctional Therapy
Experience meets expertise
As a clinician, educator, patient, and mother, Samantha has experienced myofunctional therapy from multiple perspectives. That experience has shaped the way she teaches: grounded in science, but never reduced to a formula.
I've been the patient. I've been the parent. I'm a clinician and a mentor. And I've learned that knowing the protocol is only part of the work.
The science gives us the anatomy, physiology, research, and treatment principles. The art is knowing how to apply them to the individual in front of you; how to adapt, communicate, collaborate, and help someone move toward lasting change.
How She Teaches
Learning that connects ideas and people
Most clinicians practicing myofunctional therapy are on their own, sometimes they are the only provider for hundreds of miles. Samantha built the AOMT community so no one has to figure it out alone.
Mentorship
You won't have every answer when you start. You can always come back to talk through cases.
Implementation
The program is less about the data and more about doing the work: from assessment through treatment.
Motivation
Learning to identify intrinsic motivation to carry the journey of treatment is a skill we develop at the AOMT.
Communication
How to build rapport, write reports, and knock down the perceptual barriers between disciplines.
In Practice
The neuro-rehabilitation pathway
Myofunctional therapy is the neurologic re-education of the stomatognathic system. Samantha treats patients across the lifespan, from toddlers through adults, and brings that active clinical experience directly into her teaching, speaking, and work with AOMT.
Her approach helps clinicians recognize dysfunctional patterns, understand the factors contributing to them, and apply clear, practical techniques that support more stable function in breathing, oral rest posture, and the oral phase of swallowing.
Because myofunctional therapy rarely happens in isolation, interdisciplinary collaboration is central to her teaching. Samantha mentors clinicians to work effectively alongside ENTs, dentists, orthodontists, and manual and physical therapists, helping them understand when additional expertise is needed and how to build the team required for comprehensive rehabilitation and long-term stability for patients.
Sleep, breathing & airway
Addressing the airway and breathing patterns that shape sleep, growth, and daily function.
Focus, behavior & digestion
Supporting the downstream effects of myofunctional disorders, from attention and behavior to digestion.
Habit elimination
Thumb-sucking and other oral habits, using a family-systems approach tailored to each family's culture.
Post-surgical rehabilitation
Oral sensory and proprioceptive work after jaw advancement, deviated-septum repair, or tonsil and adenoid surgery.
Pain patterns & TMJ
Calming nociceptive bracing with heat and cold, slow movement, red-light therapy, positional sleep shifts, and muscle-activating foods.
Collaborative care
Working alongside ENTs, dentists, orthodontists, and manual therapists as part of a patient's larger team.
Clinician Voices
What learning with Samantha is like
Samantha has a brilliant ability to communicate and present, as well as a very connected, empathetic personality. I look forward to continuing to connect with the community. This class is amazing and worth every penny spent.Natalie CooperM.S., CCC-SLP
I've completed hundreds of hours of continuing education over 30 years as a practicing SLP. Samantha's course was the most intense curriculum outside of grad school.Wendy LunsfordM.S., CCC-SLP
I honestly feel like the AOMT is THE institute to set the stage for OMT research and delivery to the world. Samantha and the AOMT team truly know what they're talking about.Charlene A. LyonsMyofunctional Therapist
Samantha, you are a true wealth of knowledge. Your dedication to the field of Myofunctional Therapy has played a significant role in bringing the attention this profession deserves. Thank you for your passion, insight, and leadership.Jennifer MosbeckRDH, COM®
Sam was a wonderful, supportive instructor. I greatly appreciate her knowledge. This is one of the best, most beneficial and informational courses I have taken in my 20+ years as an SLP.Michelle D. MedlerM.S., CCC-SLP
Samantha's Story
She didn't look for myofunctional therapy; the field found her.
Before treating others, Samantha was the patient. The "genetic" bump on her nose, the slushy S's that required speech interventions, the open-mouth breathing that reshaped her adolescence. No one connected the dots or treated the source.
Recognition came in layers: a dinner where Joy Moeller mapped her whole physiological history across the table; orthodontist Dr. William Hang describing faces in "free fall"; a Buteyko breathing class where she taped her lips at night and woke up feeling deeply rested. It was personal, anatomical, and set her on a new life trajectory.
Returning to school for a second career, Samantha spent years in clinical and international learning environments, alongside experts who became her mentors. What she learned became the through-line of her teaching: patients are the real curriculum. They reveal the barriers clinicians eventually run into, long before textbooks teach what to consider.
In 2010, she and Marc Moeller took the helm of AOMT, and she has spent the years since turning that clinical knowledge into a training academy built around implementation and community.
