Speech Teletherapy: Why in some cases it works better than traditional on-site speech therapy.

I’ve been doing speech teletherapy for several years and know first hand how effective it is, but I don’t think others truly grasped it until this spring when the entire country came to a halt and everyone shifted virtually.  Here are five reasons why, in some cases, teletherapy is more effective than traditional therapy and you should consider trying it!

Carry-over and home practice

Carry over is a client or student’s ability to take an individual speech skill learned in therapy and apply it broadly in all speaking situations. Because you are providing teletherapy within the client’s/student’s home this can be easier to achieve. Items used during therapy are typically found within the client/student’s home. These items can be used for practice until the next speech teletherapy session.

More frequent contact with therapist

Because therapy can be scheduled without worry of travel time and at the convenience of both the client/student and the therapist, it is much easier to have multiple sessions and contact with each other. In some cases short, more frequent practice, is needed to master a skill (i.e., speech sound aquisition).

Convenience of doing therapy in your home

As noted above there’s no travel time or waiting in waiting rooms. The client or student simply logs on to the HIPAA/FERPA compliant platform and the therapy session begins.

Helps with those who have social anxiety

I have clients and students who have difficulty warming up to others in person. Each session begins with a period of time used to build rapport and establish (or re-establish) a connection. However, with teletherapy, I have found the time for building rapport is decreased. My client or student is in his/her own home and often has support from a loved one to decrease his/her anxiety.

Family support and participation

My clients and students all have family members who actively participate in our speech teletherapy sessions. This has been invaluable as many of them then work on targets with the client/student during the week while we aren’t in our session together.

There are many reasons to consider when providing speech therapy in person, on-site or virtually, and Trilogy Therapy specializes in doing it all! Visit us at www.trilogyteletherapy.com and schedule a visit today!

Ellen C. Treide MS, CCC-SLP