About Me.
Robyn Merkel-Walsh M.A., CCC-SLP, COM®
Robyn Merkel-Walsh, M.A., CCC-SLP, COM ® is a Licensed Speech Pathologist and Certified Orofacial Myologist® with over two decades of experience in the state of NJ. She is employed full time by the Ridgefield Board of Education and runs a private practice in Ridgefield, NJ. She is a lecturer and author for TalkTools®. She has been elected NJ Kids Top Doctors in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018. Robyn received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Montclair State University, where she was later invited to be an adjunct/clinical supervisor. She also taught classes at Bergen Community College and is a former clinical site coordinator for Seton Hall University. She is the Board Chair of the Oral Motor Institute. She is the proud recipient of three ASHA ACE Award and the Ridgefield Woman of the Year 2019 in Business. She is on the faculty of The Breathe Institute.
Specialization:
Robyn specializes in Oral-Placement, feeding and Orofacial Myofunctional disorders in children. She is Beckman and PROMPT trained. Her private practice focuses on Oral-Placement (OPT), oral motor, orofacial myofunctional (OMT) , muscle and motor-based disorders in children, and she has expanded her practice to teens and adults. She conducts evaluations and Program Plans for children across the tri-state area.
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Publications and Lectures:
Robyn is a well-respected subject matter expert. Her publications include: SMILE (Systematic Intervention for Lingual Elevation), Art Talk, Handy Handouts, OPT-S Kit, and she co-authored Sensory Stix, A Sensory Motor Approach to Feeding, Functional Assessment and Remediation of Tethered Oral Tissues and OPT Goals for Speech Clarity. She has also written multiple articles for the TalkTools® website, the ASHA Leader and Advance Magazine for Speech Pathologists. She has been published five consecutive years at the and the annual convention of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association. Recently Robyn has also been published in the journals of Clinical Pediatrics and International Journal of Orofacial Myology and Myofunctional Therapy.
Robyn is a lecturer for professional enhancement courses as part of TalkTools® Speakers Bureau. She teaches OPT, TOTs, Tongue Thrust and classes on the autistic population, that have been offered for ASHA CEs and has been invited to speak on diversified topics by the New Milford Board of Education, The Apraxia Network, AAPPSPA, the International Association of Orofacial Myology, Gold Learning, The American Laser Study Club and the MOSAIC Foundation (to name a few).
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Volunteer Work:
Robyn is actively involved in parental support groups for TOTs, OPT and Childhood Apraxia of Speech and monitors an interactive Oral Placement Discussion Board on Facebook. Robyn was a chief clinician in a research project for the Moebius Foundation, and was a clinical site supervisor for Malloy College. She is a member of ASHA, AAPPSPA, NJEA, IAOM, OMI, ICAP and The Bergen County Apraxia Association. She served a term on the NJSHA Board of Directors and as the private practice co-chair. She was Associate Editor of the IJOM in 2020 and serves as the volunteer CE Coordinator for Marshalla Speech and Language.