Blog: Teletherapy News & Industry Information

Is it Sensory or is it Behavior? How to Differentiate

By: Tricia Kernan, MOTR/L

As an Occupational Therapist (OT) who provides assessments and interventions to children via telepractice, I get a lot of questions regarding how I can accomplish this with students who have a sensory processing disorder. When parents and teachers report student concerns such as: “squirming in their seat, squealing, flapping, being aggressive, wiggling and decreased focus”, the task becomes to differentiate between attention, behavior, and sensory needs.  OTs can address these concerns through teletherapy so that these students can succeed both academically and in their daily life skills. 

Teletherapy Strategies for Working with Preschoolers

As children enter school play needs to be an important part of the therapy process. This is especially true for preschoolers. Children at the preschool age are at the beginning of their school journey but are also learning how to balance structured activities with play.

Play keeps learning fun for preschoolers. Therapy sessions with preschoolers must consist of more than flashcards and worksheets. Whether your therapy sessions format is pull-out therapy, push-in therapy, or teletherapy, preschool speech therapy consists of a different style of activities than it does for older children. Read More

Free Online Resources for Teaching Your Kids at Home

As we all get used to this new normal, parents and teachers are faced with a question no one ever thought would need an answer. How do we keep our kids safe and practice social distancing while ensuring their education continues for the school year? So many parents are now juggling working from home and teaching their kids. And the reality is, those are the lucky ones because there are those who now find themselves looking for a job while trying to teach their kids. Whatever your situation, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are thousands of other parents in the same boat. To keep you from sinking, here are some resources we found online to help. 

Schools Turn to Teleschool During COVID-19 Outbreak

The United States is currently faced with the challenge of preventing the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) while simultaneously maintaining the daily function and operation of a variety of large-scale operations. Travelers have been warned to proceed with caution or postpone any trips. Those that work in a corporate setting have been granted permission to work remotely to avoid further spread of the virus. School districts across the country are turning to teleschool, an increasingly popular technology that connects students with teachers, therapists, and other education professionals remotely. 

How Speech Therapy is Evolving

The future of speech therapy is changing rapidly, as a result of many Baby Boomer speech-language pathologists (SLPs) reaching retirement, with a decreased number of new graduates available to take those vacancies. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics says there will be a 27% increase in jobs available in the field in the decade between 2018 and 2028. This translates to more than 153,700 new jobs in the field, but with just a year before the decade of growth closes, many jobs remain unfilled. Read More

What’s the Difference Between Articulation and Phonological Disorders in Children?

Most young children go through a developmental phase in which they make phonetic errors in speech. You might remember your toddler or three-year-old substituting one sound for another, such as saying “weave” for “leave” or they leave out a consonant and restructure the word when two consonants are formed together at the beginning like, “boo” for “blue.”

While most articulation and phonology disorders are developmental, meaning that as they age they outgrow them, some articulation and phonology disorders are not. Read More

Understanding the Benefits of Group Speech Therapy

Whether we realize it or not, our speech and social skills are closely linked. The ability to communicate effectively in a social setting is often overlooked but it’s a necessary skill for children to learn. Some children may have no issues playing, sharing, or communicating with classmates and teachers; while other children may have such a difficulty that it inhibits their ability to perform well academically and socially. Read More

How Effective is One-on-One Speech Therapy for Older Children?

There are many resources available for preschool and elementary-age children who have developmental language disorder, a delay in mastering language skills in children who have no hearing loss or other developmental delays. But what about older children who still struggle with language mastery? Can one-on-one therapy still help those children? Read More

Treating Anomic Aphasia with Speech Therapy

Anomic aphasia presents as an inability to consistently produce the appropriate words for things a person wishes to talk about. This is particularly evident when the individual requires a noun or a verb. The disorder is known by several names, including amnesic aphasia, dysnomia, and nominal aphasia. Read More

The Pros and Cons of Teletherapy

Depending on where you live, working in a traditional speech-language pathology office may mean driving more than 100 miles a day round-trip to serve clients. Rather than spending hours commuting, you could turn to teletherapy. With any career change, there are pros and cons. If you’re considering a change in setting and thinking of working remotely as a teletherapist, review the pros and cons first.