SSI began providing telepractice-based services several years ago in order to help clients who lived too far away to attend appointments in person. In March 2020, all of our services went virtual due the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our team of SLPs now provides an average of 350 assessment and therapy sessions each month by telepractice. We have developed extensive experience with speech therapy services through video conferencing (or, where appropriate, through telephone consultations and/or email communication).
We now know how beneficial telepractice is for clients of all ages with speech and stuttering needs and we consider virtual therapy to be an excellent option for treatment. Telepractice-based services have proven to be a viable way to provide speech therapy for nearly all clients who have tried it.
Even after SSI brings back on-site services, we will continue to offer virtual therapy alongside traditional in-person sessions. Many clients now prefer remote therapy, and recognize its many benefits, including:
- Convenience –access to services from anywhere in Ontario, with no travel required
- Consistency – no disruptions due to weather or rescheduling due to mild illnesses that would require us to reschedule on-site services
- Clarity – no masks, shields, or barriers needed, unlike in the office
- Closeness – no physical distancing needed
- Capacity – therapists can offer more appointments and scheduling options virtually
Please see the following FAQ to learn more about participating in speech therapy by telepractice. If you have any other questions, please reach out to speak directly with one of our SLPs to learn more.
When will on-site services resume at SSI?
We are in the process of planning for the safe return to in-person services, with a possible but not guaranteed September 2021 timeline; however, we do not have a specific date to announce at this time. Until that time, per the ongoing recommendations of the Ministry of Health and our regulatory college, services that can be provided virtually will continue to be offered in this manner. Protocols under development for in-person sessions will involve:
- Developing a vaccination policy for staff and clients/caregivers to be on site together
- Prioritizing in-person sessions based on clinical need
- Limiting the number of staff and clients on-site together, with staggered work days and appointment times
- Implementing appropriate physical distancing and PPE for our indoor setting
- Requiring that clients attend appointments alone or with a single caregiver (if needed)
- Screening staff and clients to ensure that no-one with signs/symptoms of a contagious illness (including COVID-19) enters the office
- Using infection prevention and control measures to keep staff and clients safe
Telepractice Services for Children
Question: My preschooler is stuttering, but how can we do speech therapy online if s/he is too young to sit still in front of the computer and pay attention to the SLP?
Answer: Many of the treatment approaches for children in our preschool stuttering program are parent-delivered. This means that parents learn to deliver effective daily treatment at home. This is the type of treatment that is supported by research and the type of treatment we have always recommended – even before COVID! Your SLP will meet with you weekly by Zoom to provide training and coaching but in most cases, young children do not need to participate directly with the SLP or over a screen. Your SLP will review recordings of your child speaking and recordings of the treatment at home to inform the weekly therapy sessions. If extra demonstration or coaching is needed, your SLP can book short Zoom meetings that include your child – but these are short, fun and play-based.
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Question: My school-age child is tired of remote learning from virtual school. How will they participate in online speech therapy when they already don’t like online school?
Answer: Online speech therapy is very different from online school. Our SLPs design motivating activities, individualized to each child’s needs, in order to help them focus on practicing the speech skills they need during each session. Your child will not have to wait for a turn in a class full of peers — the SLP provides immediate support and feedback through continuous live interaction, face-to-face with your child. For older children who can benefit from peer support, therapy in small groups works the same.
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Question: I have been told to seek PROMPT therapy for my child with motor speech needs. How can we do virtual therapy if the SLP needs to touch my child’s face to provide tactile PROMPTs?
Answer:
PROMPT therapy actually can be delivered virtually, because PROMPT is more than just tactile or hands-on cues. All of the same guiding principles and theory that apply to in-person sessions also apply to virtual therapy. Your SLP will still assess your child’s motor speech skills and challenges, develop motor-based goals, select speech therapy targets appropriate for the development of your child’s speech motor skills, and teach you parent strategies to support your child’s progress. The PROMPT Institute has provided trained clinicians with information on virtual therapy adaptations and now teaches its own courses virtually.
It’s important to note that because of ongoing COVID safety precautions, an in-person speech therapy session would not necessarily be “better” than a virtual session right now. Healthcare settings like ours still require physical distancing and PPE. These requirements mean that your SLP would not be able to get up close to touch your child’s face without a mask or shield, which can impact clear visual models for their mouth movements.
Virtual motor speech therapy actually has some advantages right now, even without tactile cueing by the SLP. Using videoconferencing, your child can see the SLP’s face and hear her voice clearly, close up to the screen. The SLP can also provide verbal instructions for accurate mouth movements and teach you as the parent to provide certain tactile PROMPTs.
At this time, in-person sessions can be quite different from the way they used to be. It’s important to note that some of the COVID-19 safety precautions needed for in-person therapy could affect your child’s interaction with the SLP – medical masks hide the SLP’s mouth movements, clear masks/face shields can make their speech models harder to hear, and physical distancing and plexiglass barriers prevent tactile cueing.
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Question: I think virtual therapy might be too much screen time for my child. Shouldn’t I be limiting screen time for my child?
Answer:
It is important to differentiate between typical screen time and virtual therapy. Virtual therapy involves a high amount of direct interaction with the therapist. This is very different from when your child is watching TV or videos or playing games without communicating or interacting with another person.
While we do interact through a screen, virtual therapy engages your child in a totally different type of interaction than the forms of screen time that you may have been advised to limit.
Telepractice Services for Teens & Adults
Question What are some of the advantages of doing therapy online?
Answer: Teens and adults who participate in our stuttering programs have found many aspects of virtual therapy more convenient than in-person treatment:
- Same therapy goals, techniques, and outcomes as an in-person program
- Access to therapy from anywhere within Ontario
- Familiar environment – associate new speech skills with your natural home/work environment
Conclusion
While we do not hesitate to recommended virtual speech therapy, we respect every client’s choice about how to receive speech therapy services. If you strongly prefer in-person services or cannot access virtual services, you are welcome to let us know and stay on the waitlist for services at SSI, or to seek services from other providers who have resumed in-person services. If your SSI SLP believes that in-person services would better meet your needs, she will make that recommendation as well. Thank you, and keep healthy and well!
