Why I Love Teletherapy
My love for providing speech therapy online started a few years ago. After many years of providing in-person services, I decided to try teletherapy and I’ve never looked back! At first, I thought, how can I do this job that I’ve done in person all these years online? However, after doing a few sessions online, I was pleasantly surprised at how effective and convenient it was for my clients and myself.
There are different ways that I provide online services. One is direct speech-language therapy where I work directly with a child or teen using on-screen activities and games. I structure a 30- or 45-minute session by creating a “plan” or a schedule of activities that we follow as a type of agenda for the session. I always consider the client’s interests for the activities in the plan.
For kids who read, the plan can be written. For kids who aren’t reading yet or are emerging readers, I use pictures to show kids which activities and games we will be doing during the session. For example, if we are working on the S sound, I use a variety of activities to target the sound during the session. I love using Boom Cards as flashcards and interactive games for kids to practice their skills in a fun way. For younger kids, some of my favorites are the flashlight iSpy Boom Card games where kids get to use their mouse to move a “flashlight” to find a specific hidden picture, such as a “sock, soap, sun.” When they find the picture, we can practice the word such as “sun,” and we can also put it in a sentence to make it more challenging, such as “I found a sun.”
Boom Cards are also great for working on language goals, such as following directions. For example, a child working on following directions with temporal words like “before/after,” can practice this skill by using their mouse to drag pictures into specific boxes on the digital flashcard. The directions may be, “Put the star in the red box before you put the car in the green box.” Many Boom Cards come with embedded audio so the client can click on the sound icon and have the directions spoken to them. I often read the directions aloud or have kids read them if they are comfortable. Reading aloud is a great way to practice speech sounds. The cards self-check and kids love to hit the “Submit” button to see if the answers they chose are right!
In addition to Boom Cards, I have so many websites that I love to use during teletherapy. While there are a lot of games out there online, not all of them work for speech therapy. When working on articulation skills, I look for games that involve either quick turns or articulation targets embedded in the games. I often use Ultimate SLP, a platform that includes interactive games and pictures of words and targets embedded into the activities, which is easy and fun for younger kids. Other games that include quick turns are online matching games and board games. Websites that work well for younger kids are pbskids.org and abcya.com.
I also love using my green screen! I have virtual story backgrounds from GoGoSpeech that I love using to keep kids excited and engaged in online speech therapy. I can interact with the virtual stories by using my green screen which allows me to make my hand disappear into a basket to “grab” items out of it, or to play iSpy using a magnifying glass to find different hidden items on the virtual background.
For older kids, I love using online games like 4 in a Row, checkers, and chess to practice in between turns. I also use word lists or online articles that are about a subject that the older child or teen is interested in to work on speech and language goals.
In addition to direct online therapy with kids and teens, I also provide caregiver coaching for children or teens that need lots of support, or for younger kids who aren’t at an age where they can sit in front of a computer yet. I’ve found teletherapy to be an excellent way to coach parents and caregivers! Instead of a parent dropping their child off to the clinic and waiting in the waiting room, or even participating in the session with me in the therapy room, coaching via teletherapy allows me to empower parents to implement speech and language strategies with their child at home, in their natural environment.
I love finding out what parents already know about their child’s communication (a lot!) and where they need some guidance. I believe parents are the experts on their children, and although I know a lot about speech and language development and strategies, I view myself as an equal part of a child’s team. I love collaborating with families to understand what is important to them so I can know how to support communication within meaningful activities and daily routines. For online coaching, I usually have families engage in activities with their children such as play, a snack, or another daily routine while I observe from a phone or laptop set up somewhere in the room. As the activity is happening, I coach parents in real time on how to respond to their child and how to use speech and language strategies to help their child communicate. It’s so fun and I love seeing the progress that kids make with their parents and caregivers supporting them.
I love teletherapy! It allows me to connect with kids, teens and families anywhere in Texas or Illinois from the comfort of their homes. Does your child or teen have difficulty with communication? Contact me for a free consultation.