Online Speech Therapy
Teletherapy helps link therapists with clients from miles away. Although, speech therapy over the computer may not be the best option for all clients, it's a wonderful opportunity for many!
In addition, The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) supports the use of telepractice and issued the following statement: "Telepractice is the judicious application of technology to services long provided by speech-language pathologists. Research and reports to date confirm its significant advantages to overcome barriers of access to services caused by distance, unavailability of specialists and/or sub specialists, and impaired mobility."
I had the pleasure of speaking one-on-one with Josh Cartagenova, the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Owner of Therapy Source, a therapy staffing provider in the eastern part of the United States. The company was founded in 2001 by Stacey Cartagenova, who at the time was a certified speech-language pathologist. In 2008, Therapy Source was honored as one of the top 5000 Fastest Growing Companies by INC. Magazine. Stacey and her husband, Joshua, who run the company together, are embarking upon the latest in therapeutic technology, namely therapy over the web or telepractice, a service the company calls "TheraWeb".
After reading all the literature, I had some questions for Josh regarding the current uses of TheraWeb, how it may be used in early intervention and what he feels the future holds for telepractice speech therapy.
Stephanie: Hi Josh, thank you so much for speaking with me. How many therapists are currently participating in TheraWeb?
Josh: We have recently launched the TheraWeb service and the number of participating therapists is growing fast. I anticipate to have over 75 therapists providing TheraWeb Services in the next few months in NJ, PA, OH, DE and MD.
Stephanie: How many students are currently waiting for TheraWeb therapists and what is the age range?
Josh: This is a relatively new service and technology, so we are attracting the "school innovators" that understand the technology. We have recently developed a web demo on our web site and a brochure to help convey the importance and validity for the use of technology in administering therapy. We have 5 clients signed up for the service and many are reviewing the technology.
Stephanie: The therapists and parents who read our site are mainly involved in the early intervention process. Do you have EI opportunities for therapists and families? If so, can you share what the experience has been like?
Josh: This technology can be used for most age groups. The success of TheraWeb with younger children would depend greatly on the maturity of the child and help from an adult. Children 3-5 year olds are comfortable with the technology and would need adult supervision, especially if they have physical limitations.
Many of the activities you can perform would be completed through a verbal response and the therapist can "do the clicking" or answer the questions on the system. Shorter sessions may also be an option if attention is an issue. (I.e.: Two sessions for 20 min. instead of 1 for 30 or 40 min.)
Stephanie: Are there certain disabilities or disorders that may not be best treated via webcam? (i.e. cerebral palsy, autism, etc.)
Josh: Providing therapy to diverse populations with telepractice technology is determined by the participating therapist. Some feel more comfortable than others in providing certain treatments/therapy.
At this time, many therapists believe articulation and voice therapy may not be ideal for the telepractice format due to audio quality over computer speakers. The fine-tuning that goes on is best heard in person via a face-to-face session. As microphone and speaker technology improve, TheraWebs' impact will improve. However, there may be specific cases where it could be utilized depending on the goals.
Individual students with attention difficulties may require additional support on their end if they need physical cues to remain on-task (such as body positioning, sitting the child down if he tries to walk away etc). Students with pragmatic goals such as eye contact or following one-step directions such as "give me the ball" may not be ideal, given that it would be difficult for the therapist to see whether he is looking at the picture on the screen or the camera.
Stephanie: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about Therapy Source or TheraWeb?
Josh: TheraWeb will never replace the importance of face-to-face therapy; however this service offers a viable solution to the lack of therapists in the market, the increasing demand for therapy services, location constraints and for the disabled where traveling is difficult.