What is teletherapy? How is it different from face-to-face therapy?

In the wake of COVID-19, many of us resorted to our computers, tablets, and smartphones to complete daily activities and tasks that we would normally do face-to-face such as buying groceries, meeting with friends, and taking classes, for example. However, while speech and language therapy via videoconferencing boomed during COVID-19, it is not a novel concept. Teletherapy was approved as an appropriate delivery method for providing speech therapy in 2005 by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and it will likely continue to be a valid method with which children and adults receive therapy for years to come. 

While it may be overwhelming turning on the computer or tablet to see a therapist instead of seeing the therapist in-person, evidence based practice indicates that outcomes for patients who receive therapy via virtual means are similar to outcomes for patients who receive face-to-face therapy. In fact, teletherapy has become so increasingly common that research is continually being conducted to validate its efficacy. Evidence based research indicates positive outcomes for children with varying speech and language disorders who receive speech therapy online. 

The methods and strategies utilized to improve a child’s speech or language abilities are the same in teletherapy and face-to-face therapy; however, the manner in which the activities are conducted are only slightly modified. During face-to-face therapy the therapist may sit on the floor with the child while playing with his/her favorite toy, whereas in teletherapy, the therapist will direct the parent on how to use the same toy to elicit language from their child. Similarly, during face-to-face therapy the clinician may sing a nursery song to the child and pause to allow the child to produce target words; during a teletherapy the clinician may instruct the parent to preform the task or the clinician may show the child a video of a song and pause it to elicit language. For older children receiving teletherapy, the therapist may read an online book to the child and ask the child questions or show him/her video clips and ask the child to create sentences about them.

Teletherapy is beneficial for families who want to improve their child’s communication skills but are either unable to go to a clinic or have busy schedules. One significant benefit of teletherapy is that it includes parent involvement, specifically for younger children as parents are invited to use the child’s home environment to facilitate language and improve speech. Activities with older children are interactive as children have the option to use the mouse or type to engage with the on-screen prompts. 

If you’re interested in participating in teletherapy with your family, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. We are happy to help!

To find out more information about Telepractice from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association click here.