Telehealth’s current usage
While this may be a new type of therapy for FUNdamentals and Building Blocks Therapy, it is not new to the therapy world. Many areas implement telehealth services regularly. Certain remote or rural school districts provide their speech and language services entirely thru online platforms. This ensures all children are having their goals met per their IEP or IFSP requirements. Read below to find out more about the efficacy of telehealth.
Current research
Telepractice has been researched and found effective with a wide range of clients and disorders. These include but are not limited to articulation and language disorders (Wales, D., Skinner, L., et al., 2017), autism spectrum disorder (Sutherland R., Trembath D., et al., 2018), fluency disorders (Lewis, C., Packman, A., et al., 2008), and children with complex communication needs (Douglas et al., 2018). Additionally there is research promoting the effectiveness of telepractice when training parents/caregivers of children ages birth to three (Behl et al., 2017).
While a large amount of research has been completed, there are many additional factors to consider including client goals/therapy needs, family member availability, and home environment. Clinicians are encouraged to determine if telepractice is an appropriate fit on a case-by-case basis (Cason J., Cohn, E.R., 2014). Each of our clinicians will be continually evaluating the effectiveness of teletherapy sessions to ensure quality therapy is provided.
References
Behl, D.D., Blaiser, K., Cook, G., Barrett, T., et al. (2017). A Multisite Study Evaluating the Benefits of Early Intervention via Telepractice. Infants & Young Children, 30(2) 147-161. Retrieved from: https://journals.lww.com/iycjournal/Fulltext/2017/04000/A_Multisite_Study_Evaluating_the_Benefits_of_Early.5.aspx
Cason, J., Cohn, E.R., (2014). Telepractice: An Overview and Best Practices. Perspectives on Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 23(1) 4-17. Retrieved from: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/aac23.1.4
Douglas, S. N., Nordquist, E., Kammes, R., & Gerde, H. (2018). Online parent training to support children with complex communication needs. Infants & Young Children, 30(4), 299–303. Retrieved from: https://journals.lww.com/iycjournal/Abstract/2017/10000/Online_Parent_Training_to_Support_Children_With.4.aspx
Lewis, C., Packman, A., Onslow, M., Simpson, J.M., and Jones, M. (2008). A Phase II Trial of Telehealth Delivery of the Lidcombe Program of Early Stuttering Intervention. American Journal of Speech Pathology, 17(2) 139-149. Retrieved from: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/1058-0360%282008/014%29
Sutherland, R., Trembath, D., et al. (2018). Telehealth and Autism: A Systematic Search and Review of the Literature. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20(3), 324-336. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17549507.2018.1465123?journalCode=iasl20
Wales, D., Skinner, L., et al. (2017). The Efficacy of Telehealth-Delivered Speech and Language Intervention for Primary School-Age Children: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 9(1), 55-70. Retrieved from: http://telerehab.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/Telerehab/article/view/6219/6700