Blog: Teletherapy News & Industry Information

Cognitive-Communication Disorders: Treatment and Therapy Options

Cognition is a fantastically complex process.  It includes the various systems we use to process information, like maintaining attention, determining what info is less important, (and then not focusing on it), storing information and retrieving it later.  In short, “cognition” refers to how we think.

Cognition has strong ties to communication.  Not only are cognitive and linguistic processes interwoven, (think about the language you use to do your thinking), but we use cognition to do things such as: pick up the verbal and non-verbal cues that others give us, navigate expectations for socially appropriate communication, maintain conversational topics, understand and retain information, and make judgments about the environment so we can use our speech and voice to effectively express ourselves.

VocoVision at ASHA 2013

Teachers pay Teachers – An Online Marketplace for Education Professionals

There are tons of SLP materials available online. But if you’re looking for a “one-stop shop” for your speech-language curriculum needs, consider “Teachers pay Teachers,” a digital marketplace created by school-based professionals for school-based professionals. Read More

Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders

In early development or infancy,  “tongue thrusts” that cause children to pronounce  sounds incorrectly are fairly common. Think of a child who cannot yet pronounce the /s/ sound. That child may say ‘thumb’ instead of ‘some’ because his or her mouth muscles are still underdeveloped.  When a child reaches an age where normal pronunciation should already be in place and still has difficulties with pronunciation, he or she may have an orofacial myofunctional disorder (OMD). Read More

The Role of Response To Intervention (RTI) in Schools

You may have a child who is struggling to achieve better grades in school. In truth, sitting down and trying to help with lessons and homework assignments doesn’t always work as some students may show profound gaps in learning. Your initial observation of his or her struggles should trigger a need for professional assistance in order to avoid further delays in learning. Ideally, your search should begin in the school setting. Read More

TBI -Traumatic Brain Injury…and you?

Traumatic brain injury has been in the news quite a lot lately, and the effects of concussion are becoming a frequent topic on sports shows, especially regarding NFL players and military veterans.  But a new study published in the online journal Radiology concludes that even a single blow to the head can cause lasting structural brain damage.

Brain injury reduces brain volume and can last for months, for years, or for a lifetime, depending on the severity of the damage. The effect on behavior can be profound.

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Sensory Processing Disorder – Creating Calm in a Chaotic World

Sensory Processing Disorder affects about half of all autistic children, and the symptoms often significantly impact all aspects of daily life, including learning. Understanding how to deal with the disorder is crucial to communicating and working with autistic children. Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the U.S. According to the CDC, autism affects 1 in 88 children today and boys are five times more likely to be autistic than girls (1 in 54 boys)…and new studies indicate that this may be an underestimate.

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Picture Books + Apps = Winning Speech Therapy Combination

The value of picture books in early intervention therapy is well established, and the market today offers a wealth of great books to assist in speech therapy, and there are countless apps that can be integrated for a multi-sensory approach.

Sometimes it can seem like technology is the only way forward, but the old-school approach still has a place. Traditional books have a charisma that can’t be denied. The feel and heft of the book in your hands, the way the pages turn, and the need to understand the words and pictures in context, without pop-ups or interactive features, has an intrinsic value that’s hard to define. Read More

Is Telehealth the Answer to Dissatisfaction with Rising Healthcare Costs?

Is Telehealth the Answer to Dissatisfaction with Rising Healthcare Costs?

A November Gallup poll reveals that people who have commercial health insurance are becoming less satisfied with rising cost and lowered coverage. In 2001, 68% of people who were privately insured by their employers were satisfied by coverage and out-of-pocket costs, but by November 2012, that number had significantly decreased -by about 11 percentage points, to 57%.

At the same time, recipients of government programs—Medicare and Medicaid—reported an almost identical increase in satisfaction, from 68% in 2001 to 76% in 2012.

Researchers concluded that falling satisfaction rates are due to increased costs as people are expected to pick up more of the costs of premiums and other expenses passed on by employers and insurers. Insurance companies looking to maximize profits by cutting benefits may also factor in. Read More

Communication Breakthrough for Autism?

Communication Breakthrough for Autism?

Parents of autistic children have many questions. How much does my child understand? Does he know what’s going on? How much is getting through? When a child can’t communicate in a traditional way, it can be difficult to make a connection or even understand basic needs and wants. But much in the way mothers can understand the pre-speech needs of their babies, they may also be able to understand communication clues from non-verbal autistic children.

A new video test aims to study autistic toddlers and children to shed light on the extent to which autistic non-verbal children understand communication. A video-article published in JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) demonstrates language comprehension assessment in toddlers and young autistic children. Read More