The Pandemic’s Effect on Education
The Covid-19 pandemic has locked 90% of the world’s students out of school. After a momentary halt, schools were on damage control, recompensing wasted time and allowing students the opportunity to attend classes from home. Although perturbing during the early phases, students eventually got accustomed to the modern methods of remote learning.
How did students going through speech therapy cope?
Along the same line, children with speech impairments were forced to put treatment on hold.
However, because remote learning yielded favorable outcomes, many speech therapists decided to follow the same route—allowing their patients the opportunity to continue treatment and get access to speech-language services from home.
The Small and Rural Schools Network, endorsed by the Texas Education Agency, has launched a Speech Teletherapy Pilot that ensures continued treatment for students with disabilities.
Now, a question remains: Will speech therapists still rely on teletherapy, even after the pandemic’s over?
Teletherapy for Speech & Language Pathologists (SLPs)
SLPs working with students are leveraging the advent of seamless communication platforms to provide better sessions, in spite of the health risks posed by the pandemic.
Thanks to these solutions, SLPs are now able to deliver proven, successful, traditional methods of speech therapy—via innovative digital solutions.
For instance, CoxHealth, a not-for-profit health system based in Springfield, has designed a system for schools that provides students with the ability to continue treatment without worrying about interruptions, missed sessions, or the hassles that come with staffing agencies.
Global Teletherapy, too, has developed high-quality online speech therapy for schools to empower their K-12 students with superior therapy.
This goes to show that telehealth for SLPs and students is yielding favorable outcomes; so much so that organizations are now designing tailored systems for schools with special features and enhanced capabilities such as tracking, remote group treatments, effortless medicaid billing, and more.
Should everyone engage in teletherapy?
The demand for this modern approach is rising, with 78% of patients embracing virtual services. And the growing popularity of this new approach comes as no surprise, as it can be just as effective as in-person services. According to The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards, however, less than 27% of therapists’ services are accessible to students—primarily due to the risks posed by COVID-19.
To supply the whopping demand, SLPs require proper training—as less than 5% of therapists have formal training in teletherapy.
The IBCCES accredits therapists with mastery level certification programs that encompass a range of educational areas.
Creating better solutions for students with speech and language impairments is governed by regulations and policies that ensure the safety of professionals and patients.
In addition to laying out telepractice service delivery regulations, the ASHA has compiled a list of resources that guide telepractice service providers.
The Future of Teletherapy
The way towards complete digitization of speech and language therapy is long and rugged. But, with proper solutions in place, a positive perspective, and investments that encourage associations, schools, and practitioners, the goal can be achieved in a shorter amount of time.
Are SLPs resisting teletherapy?
While most SLPs are open to the concept of teletherapy, many resist the practice, primarily due to a lack of clear understanding as to what it entails—and how to tailor traditional therapy sessions to an online environment.
After familiarizing themselves with the benefits of teletherapy, and all the data supporting it, SLPs should communicate the advantages of this approach to the patients. This will greatly benefit their patients, as they can continue treatment without sacrificing the familiarity that comes with in-person sessions.
The role of technology in speech and language therapy
While some organizations such as Great Speech, Glow Bright Therapy, and Anywhere Speech & Language developed their own platforms through which they communicate with patients, others rely on already-available communication solutions.
The former, while advantageous to patients and their therapists, requires developers, meaning high investments. The latter, although cost-efficient, doesn’t provide interactive capabilities that are sometimes crucial for patients.
For now, practitioners relying on Zoom and alternative services to conduct their sessions will be forced to sacrifice many features and rely on best practices provided by fellow SLPs.
Best practices and tips that aim to polish the process of speech therapy through Zoom may be helpful—but until speech and language-specific communication tools are developed for solo practitioners, progress will surely be slow.
