That Speech Lady: Online Sessions (Teletherapy)
I am really excited to offer teletherapy sessions to children, young people and their families. Sessions have been running since April 2020 and have been a great success.
Here are a few reasons why I think teletherapy is AWESOME!
- - The commute time is very short!
- - You can access teletherapy from the comfort of your own home.
- - Interactive games and online activities can be lots of fun.
- - Many children are highly motivated by the use of technology and computers.
Information for parents about teletherapy (online sessions)
What is teletherapy?
Teletherapy is the delivery of a service by live video connection over the internet. It may also be called ‘telehealth’, ‘telemedicine’ and ‘telepractice’.
How do I access teletherapy? What do I need?
You will need:
- A laptop or a computer with an Internet connection (you can access sessions with a tablet, Ipad or a phone but this may limit what activities we can complete).
- A speaker and a microphone (your computer may already have these built in or you may have access to a headset with a microphone).
- Access to a communal room for sessions such as the kitchen or living room.
- A quiet surrounding (as much as possible). It will be helpful to have any TV’s or radios in the room switched off.
- An account with Zoom. You can sign up here: https://zoom.us/signup
What should I do before the session?
- Check your computer has the latest updates installed (downloading updates can temporarily slow your computer down). You can do this by clicking the windows icon at the bottom left hand side of your screen. Type ‘updates’ then ‘check for updates’.
- Please ensure your child (and other people present) are dressed appropriately for the session.
What happens during teletherapy sessions?
- That Speech Lady will work with your child and/or with you directly. This will depend on what we are working on, the age of your child and the amount of involvement required by you. For example, for very young children, teletherapy may involve lots of parent coaching. For older children, teletherapy usually involves directly working with your child.
Do I need to present for teletherapy sessions?
- Yes and no, depending on the purpose of our session. We will let you know the details before your session.
- If you are not needed in the session, please be nearby and remain at home for the duration of the session. We may need your help if something isn’t working.
- If your child is attending the session alone, please ensure the door is kept open in the room they are working in.
Will teletherapy sessions be recorded?
- Teletherapy sessions will not be recorded unless this is agreed with you and your child at the time or in advance.
- It may be helpful to record parts of a session, for example if we are practicing specific techniques or activities.
- Any video recordings we hold will be deleted after they have been used or shared with you.
What are the potential benefits of teletherapy?
- Sessions can be accessed in the privacy of your home.
- Timing of sessions may be more convenient.
- The use of technology may increase motivation and engagement levels.
- There are a range of resources we can utilise online. For example, the use of an interactive whiteboard, screen sharing, using websites, video clips, online activities and games.
What are the potential risks of teletherapy?
- Risks could include (but are not limited to) internet interruptions, technical difficulties and unauthorised access to sessions.
Is Zoom safe and secure?
- According to their website, Zoom communication use 256-bit TLS encryption and shared content can be encrypted using AES-256 encryption.
- For further information (and for the latest updates) about Zoom security, please visit https://zoom.us/docs/en-us/privacy-and-security.html
- Zoom is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
What is That Speech Lady doing to ensure the safety and security of Zoom sessions?
To ensure the safety and security of sessions online we are:
- Using a random meeting ID for sessions.
- Using a random password to access sessions.
- Using a virtual waiting room (we control who comes in and out of sessions).
- Using the ‘lock’ feature once you have joined the virtual room (to ensure no-one else can access the session or request to join via the waiting room).
- Ensuring we are in a quiet room where we will not be disturbed or overheard by anyone else.
How can I cancel teletherapy sessions?
- Cancellations follow the same principles as stated on the Terms and Conditions form (see below).
- If you need to cancel an appointment, you must contact us in advance or before 09.00am on the day of the appointment. Contact details are: lauren@thatspeechlady.co.uk or 07397296183.
- If an appointment is cancelled after 09.00am on the day of the appointment, there will be a charge of £40.
- If we have to cancel an appointment, you will be informed as soon as possible and the appointment will be rescheduled.
What happens if there is a problem with the Internet connection and we can’t access the session?
- We will do our best to support you over the telephone in the first instance.
- If this is unsuccessful, we can complete the remainder of the session via a phone call or we can use the remaining time to email some activities for you to complete at home.
- Sessions cannot be extended if you are late to the session or if you have internet or phone issues.
- If we are late to the session or if there is an internet issue on our behalf, we will ensure you are given this time back by either extending, rescheduling or refunding the session.
What happens if I forget or miss a session?
- We will do our best to contact you via a phone call and/or by email.
- Unfortunately, if you miss a session you will still be charged the full session fee.
Why are your fees the same?
- Teletherapy sessions require a lot of preparation in advance (for example, setting things up, creating session plans, resources, collating activities etc).
- We have invested time (and we will continue to do so) for learning and keeping our teletherapy practice up to date.
- Our specialist skills, knowledge and experiences remain the same.
- Our sessions will continue to be of a high-quality standard.
- We will continue to adhere to our professional standards and conduct. This does not change because our sessions are online.
Is teletherapy effective?
- There is evidence to show teletherapy can be as effective as face to face sessions in areas such as speech sound disorders, fluency disorders and Autism. In other areas, there is less evidence as the research has not been carried out.
- Studies have found teletherapy is more effective than no treatment at all.
- As therapists, we already use and have access to evidence base approaches. We can apply these approaches in teletherapy sessions.
Does teletherapy work for everyone?
- Honestly, we’d have to say no. Teletherapy does not work for all children and their families. We are all unique and amazing in our own ways. Some children LOVE teletherapy, they will enjoy working in new and creative ways. For some children, they may not enjoy this way of working. They may find it difficult to sit and work at a computer. This is okay. If we do not feel your child is benefiting from online sessions, we will let you know straightaway.
- For young children, teletherapy may involve more discussion and training directly with parents.
Trouble-shooting
I am having trouble logging into the Zoom call
- Please give us a call and we can work through this together: 07397 296 183
- You can also contact us via email: lauren@thatspeechlady.co.uk
My computer is running slowly, what can I do?
Whilst we are not IT experts, here are some tips that you might find useful. Please use these at your own risk.
- Is your computer plugged in at the mains? Sometimes this can help.
- It may be helpful to clear your computer ‘cache and cookies’. Google has advice for how to do this here: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
- Have you checked your computer for updates? You may need to click to download specific updates. Depending on the update, sometimes this can take a bit of time.
- Can you plug your computer directly into your internet router? This requires an Ethernet cable. You may find this website useful: https://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-Ethernet
- Is there anything blocking your internet router? Sometimes moving your internet router or raising it up can improve your internet connection.
- Try restarting your computer and restarting your internet router.
- Are there other members of your family using the internet? Is it possible for them to stop using the Internet whilst we are having our session?
