Tele-What? An overview of speech telepractice
You may have heard the terms telehealth, teletherapy, telemedicine, and telepractice more lately. Many of us are now being offered the convenience of online doctors appointments and secure messaging with our healthcare providers, but what about online speech therapy? According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), “Telepractice is the application of telecommunications technology to the delivery of speech language pathology and audiology professional services at a distance by linking clinician to client or clinician to clinician for assessment, intervention, and/or consultation.” It is a mode of therapy that is appropriate for servicing clients according to ASHA. You may be thinking How does speech therapy work online? Would my child be an appropriate candidate? What benefits does telepractice offer and is it even as effective as in person therapy?
How does speech therapy work online? Essentially, the speech therapy is the same, it is just over the internet instead of in an office. It is still face-to-face through applications similar to FaceTime and Skype. We can also screen share documents, materials, and even use drawing tools on a whiteboard. Some of our assessments are even now web-based and can be used over the internet as valid assessments.
Would my child be an appropriate fit for online services? From ASHA (https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589934956§ion=Key_Issues)
“Because clinical services are based on the unique needs of each individual client, telepractice may not be appropriate in all circumstances or for all clients. Candidacy for receiving services via telepractice should be assessed prior to initiating services. The client’s culture, education level, age, and other characteristics may influence the appropriateness of audiology and speech-language services provided via telepractice.
- Consider the potential impact of the following factors on the client’s ability to benefit from telepractice:
- Physical and sensory characteristics, including
- hearing ability;
- visual ability (e.g., ability to see material on a computer monitor);
- manual dexterity (e.g., ability to operate a keyboard if needed); and
- physical endurance (e.g., sitting tolerance).
- Cognitive, behavioral, and/or motivational characteristics, including
- level of cognitive functioning;
- ability to maintain attention (e.g., to a video monitor);
- ability to sit in front of a camera and minimize extraneous movements to avoid compromising the image resolution; and
- willingness of the client and family/caregiver (as appropriate) to receive services via telepractice.
- Communication characteristics, including
- auditory comprehension;
- literacy;
- speech intelligibility;
- cultural/linguistic variables; and
- availability of an interpreter.
- Client’s support resources, including
- availability of technology;
- access to and availability of resources (e.g., computer, adequate bandwidth, facilitator);
- appropriate environment for telepractice (e.g., quiet room with minimal distractions); and
- ability of the client, caregiver, and/or facilitator to follow directions to operate and troubleshoot telepractice technology and transmission.”
What benefits does telepractice offer and is it even as effective as in person speech therapy? Telepractice has many benefits for both the child and the parents. Telepractice takes out the travel time for parents and driving to a location. A child can come home from school and log onto their session without needing to travel to a clinic. Many kids also prefer the use of internet, as they are most comfortable with this mode of technology. Another benefit is more rural communities that don’t have access to a nearby speech therapist can access a certified speech-language pathologist without the barrier of location. You may be thinking GREAT, but….what about the effectiveness? According to ASHA, researchers have found few differences between telepractice and in-person services.
If you have any questions or are interested in telepractice, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Also check out the links below for more information about telepractice.
Make each day a great one!
Dayna Sanders, M.A. CCC-SLP
https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589934956§ion=Overview
