Healthcare is rapidly changing to keep up with changes in medical care. This includes things like speech therapy. Whether you are discussing a concern with your primary care physician or speaking with your mental health counselor, doing so virtually is becoming more and more popular as providers switch to telehealth options. So has the speech therapy world.
Research has shown that virtual speech therapy via telehealth has the same therapeutic results as in-person speech therapy for individuals over age 2. In fact, as early as 2005, the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) has been a stalwart of telepractice and states that it is an appropriate model of service delivery for audiologists and speech-language pathologists (SLPs).
Speech-language pathologists, as all types of mentors and care providers, have adapted to this modern means of supporting their clients— both children and adults— in the treatment and improvement of the following:
- Communication skills
- Various speech and language delays
- Learning Differences
- Expressive and receptive language differences (e.g., semantics or syntax/ grammar)
- Stroke and brain injury recovery
- Speech articulation including lisps
- Auditory and language processing
- Neurodiverse including Down Syndrome
- Cognitive and Memory Building (e.g., Dementia )
- Oral motor strengthening including orofacial myofunctional therapy (e.g., tongue ties and thrusting)
- Stuttering and fluency disorders
- Apraxia of speech
- Deaf, Hearing Impaired and Cochlear Implants
- Teaching Sign Language
- Autism & Aspergers
Why Is Online Speech Therapy Effective?
#1. Feasible And Effective For Distance Learning
A comprehensive Australian study, published in 2017, was designed to determine if “telehealth-delivered speech-language pathology interventions are as effective as traditional in-person delivery for primary school-age children with speech and/or language difficulties. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.” “Results revealed both telehealth and in-person participants made significant and similar improvements. Findings showed there is promising evidence to support telehealth for delivering speech-language pathology intervention services to school-age children.” The review concluded that the results achieved through virtual speech therapy and in-person therapy were equivalent.
#2. Similar Outcomes In Combined Methods
Kent State University conducted a conclusive study published in 2010. It was a comparison between two groups of students. The first group received online speech therapy for 4 months, followed by 4 months of in-person speech therapy. The second group, meanwhile, did the opposite— they started with 4 months in-person therapy before going for the virtual method.
The result? Both groups progressed equally and “satisfaction surveys indicated that the students and parents overwhelmingly supported the telemedicine service delivery model.” The study reported: “Student progress reports indicated that the children made similar progress during the study whichever treatment method was used. There was no significant difference in GFTA-2 scores (Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation) between students in the two treatment groups.” It was concluded that “videoconferencing appears to be a promising method of delivering speech language therapy services.”
#3. Significant Improvement
Another study, this time conducted by the Ohio Department of Public Health published in 2011, discovered the effectiveness of online speech therapy. The department funded pioneer teletherapy services and did a comparison against the traditional in-person method.
For the study, they staffed one elementary building with online Speech Language Pathologists, and another elementary building with in-person SLPs. This result is astounding: “Following intervention, students in the telehealth group made significant improvement in speech sound production as measured by change in scores on the GFTA-2 (Goldman & Fristoe, 2002). This result is similar to the improvement noted in the traditional side-by-side group.”
Conclusion
Telehealth speech therapy is as effective as traditional speech therapy in supporting adults and children over the age of 2 with treatment in a variety of speech and language areas. Research is showing that progress and success does not necessarily depend on the method used, however on the speech-language pathologist that conducts the therapy. This is why it is crucial to find the best speech-language pathologist that fits you or your child’s needs. To increase opportunity of a highly successful and confident future, it is important to overcome language and speech differences. There is no reason to hesitate on the equally effective teletherapy. If you are interested in a consultation and/ or have any questions, click here to reach us at Speech Within Reach.
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WRITTEN BY:
NICOLE BUTLER, M.A., CCC-SLP/L (ASHA Certified and licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, Founder and Executive Director of Speech Within Reach.)
SPEECH WITHIN REACH provides in person and telehealth speech therapy for children and adults. We are happy to support your speech therapy needs. Please feel free to reach out to us.