About Telepractice
As defined by the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association, telepractice is the provision of speech language pathology professional services at a distance through the use of telecommunications technology (ASHA, n.d.).
Telepractice is utilized worldwide in the assessment and treatment of a range of speech and language disorders, such as aphasia, articulation disorders, autism, dysarthria, dyspagia, fluency disorders, language and cognitive disorders (ASHA, n.d).
Who is eligible?
As clinical services are unique based on the needs of the client, telepractice may not be appropriate in all circumstances. Therefore, candidacy for therapy services via telepractice is assessed by the professional. It also should be noted that the client's age, culture, environment, and education level may influence the appropriateness for telepractice services.
Telepractice at Keystone Therapy Services
To facilitate receiving services via telepractice, Keystone Therapy Services has therapy facilitators that will transition clients to/from therapy, and assist the speech-language pathologist with the delivery of services.
What is needed?
To receive telepractice services at Keystone Therapy Services, the following is needed:
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Internet connection (and Wifi access for facilitators)
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A quiet room
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Reinforcers (if the client requires specific ones)
Due to the unique design of telepractice at Keystone Therapy Services, the facilitators bring laptop equipment, an iPad, and therapy stimulus items to the session.
How does it work?
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Telepractice can be held wherever a quiet room and internet connection can be provided
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The facilitator will arrive to the site, and set up the equipment (connect to the speech- language pathologist, etc)
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The facilitator will then transition the client to therapy
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Therapy will consist of a combination of the client completing activities as directed by the speech- pathologist on the video-conferencing software, and by the speech-language pathology facilitator
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Lesson planning and data collection will be conducted by the speech-language pathologist
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Parent communication logs will be provided after each session by the speech-language pathologist, via a cloud-based storage website
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Homework will be regularly assigned via hard copy and a cloud-based storage website
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Speech-language pathology services and facilitator services are priced separately
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Billing will be completed electronically and payments can be made via bank transfer, or checks and cash can be given to speech-language pathology facilitators