Meet Hannah Agoston of Encouraging Words, LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Agoston.

Hi Hannah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My journey has never followed a straight line, and honestly, that has become one of my greatest strengths. Looking back, every chapter of my life has taught me how deeply function, communication, breathing, and connection shape the way we experience the world.
I grew up moving between Hudson, Ohio, Aiken, South Carolina, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Brecksville, Ohio before eventually moving to Boulder, Colorado after high school. I was raised by two loving parents alongside my younger siblings, and from an early age I learned that people do not all grow or learn in the same way. My own educational journey reflected that. I was held back in first grade, later skipped portions of both fifth and sixth grades, and found myself navigating both special education and gifted programs at different points in my childhood. At the time, it felt like a lot. Looking back now, I can see how deeply my struggles with breathing, sleep, allergies, and oral dysfunction impacted my ability to learn, regulate, and thrive.
Those experiences quietly shaped the therapist I would eventually become.
Early in my career, I knew I wanted to work with children who were deaf or hard of hearing. I grew up around family members with hearing loss, learned sign language, and became fascinated not only by communication itself, but by the rich culture within the deaf community. I still remember walking through a field in Germany one day and realizing how much I missed the children I coached back home. That moment clarified everything for me. I knew I wanted my life’s work to center around helping children with hearing loss build communication and confidence.
During college, I completed additional training as an SLP-A and began working at a school for the deaf. I absolutely loved the work. Teaching deaf children required creativity, patience, and the ability to break language, speech, breathing, and communication down into their smallest functional pieces before rebuilding them in a way that worked for everyday life. That experience taught me something I still carry into every patient interaction today: if therapy is not functional in real life, then it is missing the point.
As life evolved, so did my path. After moving, raising children, and balancing the realities of family life, it became increasingly difficult to continue serving my preferred population in the way I wanted while also being the kind of present parent I hoped to be. Around the same time, my own experiences with TMJ dysfunction, sleep issues, oral dysfunction, hormonal shifts, and my children’s tongue ties and sleep struggles opened my eyes to an entirely different side of healthcare that was often overlooked.
What began as personal curiosity quickly became a second calling.
When Dr. Kristina Wolf at the TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre of Cleveland invited me into the field of myofunctional therapy, she gave me the freedom to fully immerse myself in the work. Initially, I worried I lacked experience, but the deeper I went, the more I realized how interconnected all of my previous experiences truly were. My background in speech, breathing, communication, and functional therapy approaches had already prepared me to see patterns many others missed. Rather than starting over, I was building upon years of lived and professional experience.
One of the most transformative parts of my journey has been stepping into mentorship and education. I took on clinical placement students from Kent State University, and together we learned, refined, and grew alongside one another. Teaching forced me to simplify complex concepts and create methodologies that made sense not only to students, but to patients themselves. Watching students become confident clinicians, then later inviting them to present alongside me at conferences, has been one of the most fulfilling parts of my career.
Last year, I was honored to present for Myo Membership on “TMD & Myofunctional Therapy: A Quest for Jaw Stability.” Preparing for that presentation reminded me how much I love not only helping patients heal, but helping clinicians grow in confidence and skill as well.
Today, through my private practice, I help individuals struggling with TMJ dysfunction, sleep disorders, tongue ties, oral myofunctional disorders, eating, drinking, and swallowing difficulties, as well as head, neck, and facial pain move from surviving to thriving. What motivates me most is helping people reconnect to the parts of life that light them up — whether that means living without pain, sleeping deeply for the first time in years, eating comfortably, speaking with confidence, or simply having the energy and function to fully show up for themselves and their families.
More than anything, I feel grateful that my own challenges have allowed me to become a more empathetic, relatable, and grounded therapist. I have walked pieces of the same road many of my patients are navigating, and I believe that gives me both compassion and perspective that cannot be taught in a textbook.
Looking ahead, my vision is to build a larger practice with highly skilled therapists who provide deeply functional, patient-centered care while also creating educational programs and practical protocols that help other SLPs grow their confidence in this field. So many oral myofunctional disorders are preventable with proper education and support, and I hope to be part of changing that.
At the heart of everything I do is a simple belief: when we help people restore foundational function — breathing, sleep, communication, swallowing, stability, and comfort — we do not just change symptoms. We change lives, families, and futures.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Encouraging Words, our mission is simple: Establishing Function for a Lifetime.

We help patients improve the way they breathe, sleep, chew, swallow, speak, and function through personalized, evidence-based orofacial myofunctional therapy.

While we proudly care for patients of all ages, the majority of our practice serves adults experiencing TMJ disorders, chronic jaw, neck, and facial pain, sleep-disordered breathing, and obstructive sleep apnea. We also provide specialized care for children, including pre- and post-operative therapy for tongue-tie (frenectomy) procedures and treatment for orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs).

What truly sets Encouraging Words apart is our commitment to identifying and treating the root cause, rather than simply managing symptoms. We understand that optimal oral function is deeply connected to breathing, sleep quality, posture, and overall health. Every treatment plan is thoughtfully individualized and designed to create lasting functional improvements—not temporary fixes.

One of the innovations we’re most proud of is the development of our custom Myo Kits. Each patient receives carefully selected tools and resources that support their therapy journey and reinforce the techniques we teach. These kits transform therapy from something that happens during an appointment into something patients can confidently practice every day, helping healthy habits become lifelong habits.

Another unique aspect of our practice is that every therapy session is conducted via telehealth. While this may surprise some people, we’ve found that it produces exceptional results. Therapy takes place where life happens—in our patients’ own homes—where they eat, sleep, and practice their daily routines. This allows us to coach patients in real time, making therapy more functional, more relevant, and easier to integrate into everyday life. Telehealth also enables us to provide specialized care to patients who otherwise wouldn’t have access to an orofacial myofunctional therapist.

We are especially proud of the education and empowerment that define every patient experience. Therapy doesn’t end when the session is over—it continues through the knowledge, skills, and confidence our patients gain along the way. Every appointment concludes with a personalized home program tailored to each patient’s unique goals and progress, giving them a clear roadmap for success between sessions. Combined with their custom Myo Kit, our patients leave equipped with practical tools, individualized guidance, and the confidence to practice with purpose.

Rather than creating dependence on therapy, we believe in creating independence. We empower our patients to become active participants in their own healing, understanding not only what to do, but why it matters. Lasting change happens when people understand their bodies, build healthy habits, and take ownership of their progress.

Collaboration is another cornerstone of our practice. We work closely with dentists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, ENTs, sleep physicians, and other healthcare providers to ensure every patient receives comprehensive, coordinated care.

Whether we’re helping an adult find relief from TMJ pain and sleep-related breathing challenges or preparing a child for a successful tongue-tie release, our goal remains the same: to provide the education, support, and individualized plan that allows each person to create meaningful, lifelong change. We believe better breathing, better sleep, and healthier oral function have the power to transform lives. That’s what “Establishing Function for a Lifetime” truly means to us.

What are your plans for the future?
The future is incredibly exciting for Encouraging Words. One project I’m especially looking forward to is collaborating with Dr. Kristina Wolf of the TMJ & Sleep Therapy Centre of Cleveland on an initiative that we believe will have a meaningful impact on patient care. While we’re not quite ready to share all the details, it’s a project we’re both very passionate about, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to announce it.

Beyond that, I’m focused on expanding education within our profession. One of my goals is to develop courses and mentorship opportunities for healthcare providers who are interested in learning more about orofacial myofunctional therapy and building successful, evidence-based practices. By sharing knowledge and supporting other clinicians and SLPs on their journey, I hope to help raise the standard of care and increase awareness of the important role myofunctional therapy plays in breathing, sleep, TMJ health, speech, eating/swallowing, and overall wellness.

As our practice continues to grow, my vision remains the same: to reach more patients, strengthen collaborations with healthcare professionals, and continue establishing function for a lifetime—one patient, one family, and one provider at a time.

Pricing:

• $300-450 Myofunctional Evaluation
• $155 Myofunctional Therapy Session
• $69.00 Myo Kit

Contact Info:

• Website: https://EncouragingWordsTherapy.com
• Instagram: encouragingwordstherapy
• Facebook: encouragingwordstherapy
• Twitter: encouragingwordstherapy