Recognition and Confirmation of Online Speech Therapy
Online speech therapy also goes by many names like telepathy, telepractice, and an aspect of telemedicine. It is known to deliver speech therapy as an alternative to the conventional in-person or in-clinic method. The online method has been around since the 1990s, and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has accepted it as an appropriate method of delivering speech therapy since 2005. Apart from the recognition of ASHA, researches and articles from experts have confirmed the effectiveness of this method of delivering speech therapy.
For instance, the research conducted by speech pathologists from the Kent State University confirmed that online speech therapy is as effective as the conventional method of visiting a therapist in a clinic or in-person method. While the Kent State University research employed thirty-four volunteers and took eight months to complete, research published in an international journal of telerehabilitation in 2017 reviewed not less than 100 publications. It concluded that online speech therapy and the in-person method have a similar significance level of effectiveness.
The Uniqueness of Online Speech Therapy
Therefore, what makes online speech therapy effective could be the same as what makes it unique since findings have shown that it can deliver speech therapy as effective as the in-person method. According to several pieces of research across different universities and colleges, online speech therapy increases access to quality services. Some services that are of great quality but physically inaccessible can now be delivered seamlessly using telecommunication technology. Research has also confirmed that about 78% of parents would embrace teletherapy. This means there is high demand for teletherapy, and the effectiveness of this method could be highly linked to the readiness of patients to embrace it.
Likewise, the actual cost of transporting yourself and your kid to the clinics has been eliminated with this method. Flexibility and comfort that usually come with telemedicine are highly associated with online speech therapy. Therefore, reductions in service cost, convenience, and flexibility have made online delivery of speech therapy effective.
How Online Speech Therapy Facilitates Method of Treatment
Apart from the personal advantage it affords care receivers, it also facilitates different speech therapy methods; For instance, language intervention and articulation therapy, which entails modeling correct vocabulary and grammar and modeling sound and syllable, respectively. These methods need to be integrated into a child’s normal activities, especially while playing. The fact that teletherapy is delivered at the convenience of your house means that your kids are more likely not to feel remote from their normal activities; this makes the caregiver’s effort more effective. According to researches, a better speech can be effectively achieved if parents are involved.
The online method, by default, puts the parents in the picture and therefore makes them an integral part of the learning process. Because if parents can choose the therapist and book session based on their convenience and schedule, they are more likely to be involved in their kids’ journey of acquiring improved communication skills.
Therefore, online speech therapy is effective, especially in comparison with the in-person/clinic method, because it is less costly; it puts more control in parents or care receivers; it facilitates therapy that involves integrating models of treatment in child or care receiver’s normal environments.
