Two Can Talk assesses and treats:
Communication disorders in children and adults. In addition to in-person visits, our speech and language services are offered via teletherapy across all of Ontario!
Telepractice in Speech Language Pathology
Telepractice or teletherapy refers to the use of telecommunication technology in order to deliver distance speech and language services. Teletherapy, much like in-person therapy, is led by a licensed Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) or a Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA). During telepractice, the clinician and you/your child would join an online based session at the designated therapy time and would work on the same targets as you would in the traditional in-person session. Our clinicians are using a secure video conferencing platform to deliver engaging, high quality and effective intervention.
What do I need?
Teletherapy allows you to access services from the comfort of your home. All you need is a webcam, microphone, and high-speed internet to get connected with us. Many of these are built into laptops and tablets that can be used during sessions.
WHO is telepractice suitable for?
Teletherapy can be used for a variety of services for both adults and children, including the following communication needs:
Speech sounds (articulation/phonology and motor speech)
Stuttering (fluency)
Receptive (understanding) and expressive (using) language (vocabulary, grammar, sentences, questions, following directions, sequencing, engaging in conversation, etc.)
Pre-literacy and literacy (phonological awareness, decoding, reading fluency, reading comprehension, writing, etc.)
Social communication (turn taking, joint attention, communication for different reasons/functions, understanding emotions, back and forth conversation etc.)
Communication related to Autism and developmental delays
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Caregiver (parent) coaching (early language facilitation techniques for late talkers)
Acquired communication disorders (post stroke, head injury, neurological disease, etc.)
Cognitive communication (executive functioning, reasoning, memory, attention, processing etc.)
Accent modification
HOW can we support attention during telepractice?
Some children may require an “assistant” to help support attention and manage behaviours should they arise. If you feel like you and your child fit this situation, we are ready to help support and coach you on ways to help increase attention. Just like during an in-person session, our clinicians will incorporate all the tools necessary to support each individual person. For example: visual schedule, token board, built in breaks, and of course various engaging games/activities to help sustain attention and motivation.
We realize that some children may require more support during teletherapy. Whatever your situation, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to discuss what would work best for you.
HOW do I know that teletherapy works?
This mode of service delivery is noted to have similar outcomes to in-person intervention. With technology increasingly becoming part of our daily lives and routines, more research is being conducted on the effectiveness of online therapy. Evidence suggests that regardless of whether clinicians are interacting with the individual in person or via video chat, he/she will benefit from the interaction linguistically as long as this interaction includes all of the elements of social contingency: eye contact, immediate responses, using the person’s name, asking questions, and taking and encouraging conversational turns.
Please check out this video from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association about the effectiveness of telepractice:
“The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (SAC) endorses the use of telepractice in both speech-language pathology and audiology as a means of improving access to services provided by fully qualified professionals”. (Source)
Here is what some of the existing research studies have to say:
A study comparing children who received online therapy versus in-person therapy for difficulty with speech sounds found that “both […] made significant improvements in performance and equal gains were demonstrated”.
A study examining the use of telepractice as a method of delivery of speech and language services to individuals with autism spectrum disorders in rural areas, indicated that the findings suggest that a telepractice service delivery method is an effective and valid way to provide interventions to students with ASD.
A pilot study comparing students working with an SLP through online therapy with those going to in-person sessions. They found that “mastery or adequate progress was accomplished for 88% of the objectives for telepractice and 84% of the objectives for on-site”.
A study, examining the effectiveness of ReST via telepractice, demonstrates “significant… generalization of the treatment effect to untreated imitated pseudo-words and real words” (“Rapid Syllable Transitions” (ReST) is a new treatment childhood apraxia of speech that uses pseudo-word targets with varying lexical stress patterns to target… articulatory accuracy, fluent transitions between syllables, and lexical stress”).
Sources
Boisvert, M., K.(2012) “An investigation of the efficacy of speech and language interventions with students with ASD using telepractice” .
Grogan-Johnson, S., Alvares, R., Rowan, L., & Creaghead, N. (2010). A pilot study comparing the effectiveness of speech language therapy provided by telemedicine with conventional on-site therapy.
Roseberry, S., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. (2014). Socially Contingent Interactions Help Toddlers Learn Language. ChildDevelopment, 85(3), 956–970.
Thomas, D. C., McCabe, P., Ballard, K. J. and Lincoln, M. (2016), Telehealth delivery of Rapid Syllable Transitions (ReST) treatment for childhood apraxia of speech. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders.
Toth-Cohen, S., & Gibbs, V. (2011). Family-Centered Occupational Therapy and Telerehabilitation for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Wales, D., Skinner, L., & Hayman, M. (2017). The Efficacy of Telehealth-Delivered Speech and Language Intervention for Primary School-Age Children: A Systematic Review.