Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson, MS, CCC-SLP
Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson
MS, CCC-SLP
Founder, TalkTools®
Founder, TalkTools®
Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson, MS, CCC-SLP, is an internationally recognized speaker, clinician, and the founder of TalkTools®, a company she established in 1995 dedicated to providing therapists with the tools and education needed to treat speech clarity and feeding disorders. With over 40 years of clinical experience spanning public schools, hospitals, private practice, and child development centers, she has trained therapists across six continents.
Sara is the originator of Oral Placement Therapy (OPT™), a hierarchical, evidence-informed framework for treating muscle-based disorders that affect speech intelligibility and safe feeding. Her approach integrates jaw stability, lip rounding, tongue mobility, and motor planning into a cohesive treatment philosophy used by clinicians worldwide.
Her clinical expertise includes articulation disorders (with particular focus on /s/ and /z/ sounds), drooling remediation, jaw assessment and treatment, pediatric and adult feeding rehabilitation, Down Syndrome, Moebius Syndrome, and motor planning disorders. Sara has published 12 peer-reviewed research articles covering tactile techniques, tongue placement, feeding safety, oral habits, and the connection between speech and occupational therapy.
Sara is the author of six clinical texts, including Oral Placement Therapy for Speech Clarity and Feeding, Assessment and Treatment of the Jaw, OPT for /s/ and /z/, A Therapist's Guide to Rehabilitative Feeding and Speech Techniques for Teens and Adults, The HOMEWORK Book, and the Drooling Remediation Program.
Sara is the originator of Oral Placement Therapy (OPT™), a hierarchical, evidence-informed framework for treating muscle-based disorders that affect speech intelligibility and safe feeding. Her approach integrates jaw stability, lip rounding, tongue mobility, and motor planning into a cohesive treatment philosophy used by clinicians worldwide.
Her clinical expertise includes articulation disorders (with particular focus on /s/ and /z/ sounds), drooling remediation, jaw assessment and treatment, pediatric and adult feeding rehabilitation, Down Syndrome, Moebius Syndrome, and motor planning disorders. Sara has published 12 peer-reviewed research articles covering tactile techniques, tongue placement, feeding safety, oral habits, and the connection between speech and occupational therapy.
Sara is the author of six clinical texts, including Oral Placement Therapy for Speech Clarity and Feeding, Assessment and Treatment of the Jaw, OPT for /s/ and /z/, A Therapist's Guide to Rehabilitative Feeding and Speech Techniques for Teens and Adults, The HOMEWORK Book, and the Drooling Remediation Program.
Disclosures
Financial Disclosure: Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson is the founder and owner of TalkTools® and holds patents associated with the TalkTools® product line. She does not receive royalties from her published books.
Non-Financial Disclosure: She has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
Non-Financial Disclosure: She has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
Articles by Sara
- USING TACTILE TECHNIQUES TO IMPROVE SPEECH CLARITY IN THE ADULT REHABILITATIVE SETTING
- VARIABILITY OF TONGUE-TIP PLACEMENT: ACOUSTICALLY STANDARD PRODUCTION OF /S/ CROSS-CULTURALLY
- SARA ROSENFELD-JOHNSON’S APPROACH TO ORAL-MOTOR FEEDING AND SPEECH THERAPY
- CONNECTIONS BETWEEN TONGUE PLACEMENT AND DENTAL ALIGNMENT
- EFFECTIVE EXERCISES FOR A SHORT FRENUM
- HORNS AS THERAPY TOOLS
- IMPROVING FEEDING SAFETY AND SPEECH CLARITY FOR CLIENTS WITH MOEBIUS SYNDROME
- ORAL HABITS: WHY THEY EXIST AND HOW TO ELIMINATE THEM
- THE ROLE OF THE JAW FOR FEEDING AND SPEECH
- SPEECH THERAPY AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?
- STRAWS AS THERAPY TOOLS
- THE ORAL-MOTOR MYTHS OF DOWN SYNDROME
- TREATMENT OF CHILDREN WITH SPEECH ORAL PLACEMENT DISORDERS (OPDS): A PARADIGM EMERGES
Self-Study Courses
A comprehensive walkthrough of Sara's three-part OPT™ framework — jaw, lips, and tongue — with clinical case demonstrations and treatment sequencing strategies.
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Explore the clinical rationale for using bubbles in therapy to build oral motor control, breath support, and lip rounding in a fun and motivating way.
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A bundled series covering the clinical use of horns, straws, and bubbles as a coordinated OPT™ tool hierarchy for building oral motor skills.
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Learn how horn-blowing exercises support lip closure, breath control, and tongue retraction — with practical hierarchy guidance for your therapy sessions.
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Understand the foundational role of jaw grading in speech production and learn targeted techniques for improving jaw stability across pediatric and adult populations.
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Watch a real pediatric evaluation focused on bilabial and tongue tip sound production, with clinical commentary on assessment findings and next steps.
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An in-depth evaluation session demonstrating early intervention strategies for infants and toddlers with Down Syndrome, emphasizing feeding and pre-speech skills.
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Observe and analyze a clinical evaluation addressing interdental tongue patterns, with guidance on selecting appropriate OPT™ tools and treatment goals.
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Explore the relationship between language development and speech intelligibility in a live pediatric evaluation, with clinical decision-making discussion throughout.
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A focused evaluation session on lateral lisp patterns, covering tongue placement analysis, error classification, and the OPT™ treatment approach for /s/ and /z/.
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Assess lip rounding deficits and restricted tongue mobility in a real clinical session, with tool selection rationale and treatment planning guidance.
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Observe a live evaluation of a child with dysarthria, with discussion of motor planning challenges, OPT™ tool selection, and realistic goal-setting strategies.
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Examine how a restricted lingual frenum impacts speech and language development, with evaluation technique demonstration and treatment planning discussion.
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A comprehensive evaluation session for a child presenting with co-occurring speech and language disorder, covering differential diagnosis and integrated treatment planning.
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Watch a real evaluation session for a child with a speech and motor planning disorder, with step-by-step clinical reasoning and OPT™-informed intervention strategies.
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Learn how and when to bridge from oral placement exercises to functional speech targets, with a live pediatric case demonstrating transition planning and criteria.
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Versión en español del curso de tratamiento de tres partes de OPT™ — marco completo de evaluación y tratamiento con demostraciones clínicas de casos reales.
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Addresses the unique feeding and speech challenges of the teen and adult population, with rehabilitative techniques that bridge oral motor function and functional communication.
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Discover the clinical value of straw drinking as a therapeutic tool for tongue retraction, lip seal, and jaw grading — with a hierarchy of straw types and progressions.
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Live Courses
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