Get the Most Out of Online Speech Therapy

Feb 25, 2021

ONLINE SPEECH THERAPY – GET THE MOST OUT OF IT!

Not all online therapy is created equal.  Here’s how to make sure your child is getting the most out of her online speech-therapy sessions.

  1. HAVE A GOOD INTERNET CONNECTION
  2. USE A GOOD MICROPHONE OR HEADSET
  3. HAVE GOOD LIGHTING
  4. USE A BIG SCREEN (OR TWO)
  5. KEEP THE ROOM QUIET WITH NO DISTRACTIONS
  6. SIT NEARBY TO KEEP YOUR CHILD ON TRACK
  7. PRACTICE THE SAME ACTIVITIES WITH YOUR CHILD

 

  1. HAVE A GOOD INTERNET CONNECTION

 

Obviously, if you don’t have a stable internet connection, online therapy can’t take place.  Either you’ll lose the signal altogether, or the video and sound will be choppy and freeze up occasionally.  Imagine if you’re the speech therapist, trying to hear and observe the child’s mouth to see if they are making the sound correctly, and the video or audio keeps glitching right at the precise moment they are making that sound.  Or if you are the child, trying to observe the SLP making the sound, and she freezes or disappears from the call.  Not a good thing!  Consider upgrading your internet service or going to a location that provides free, stable internet service.  Close down any unnecessary programs that might be running in the background.

 

  1. USE A GOOD MICROPHONE OR HEADSET

For speech therapy to work, all participants must be able to hear, and hear well!  If you have a good headset, let your child use that.  Keep the microphone 3 inches from her mouth and tell her to speak in a normal tone of voice.  If you don’t have a headset, you can just use the internal speaker of your device.  Just make sure the child is sitting close enough that the sound can be picked up adequately.

  1. HAVE GOOD LIGHTING

Make sure your room has good lighting and have your child sit facing the light source.  If you put your child with his back to a window, for instance, he will be backlit, and his face and mouth will be in shadow and hard for the speech therapist to see.  So, if your room has windows, place your child so that he is facing the windows.  If necessary, turn on a desk lamp and direct it towards your child.

  1. USE A BIG SCREEN (OR TWO)

Online speech therapy usually requires the child to be able to see 3 things:  Herself, the therapist, and the materials the SLP is sharing in another window.  If the child is using a cell phone, you can imagine that each of those windows is going to be very small.  It is hard for the child to see her own mouth movements and compare them to the SLP’s mouth movements.  And it makes it harder for the child to see and read what is on the shared screen.  Don’t get me wrong, as an SLP we would rather have the child show up to a session using a cell phone than not show up at all!  But keep in mind that she could be getting better help if she has a larger screen.  A laptop or desktop computer with a large screen, or even an extra monitor, would be ideal!  If you don’t have one, check with friends, relatives or neighbors to see if they have old ones lying around at their house.  You’d be surprised how many people upgrade their equipment and then don’t know what to do with the old stuff, so it just sits in their garage or storage room.  They might love the chance to put it to good use.

 

  1. KEEP THE ROOM QUIET WITH NO DISTRACTIONS

I considered making this #1!   You’d be surprised how much background noise a computer’s or tablet’s mic will pick up.  Yay for technology.  Unfortunately, that makes it really hard for the SLP to distinguish the fine details of a child’s ‘S’ sound, for instance.  It’s also hard for the child to concentrate on the therapist if his siblings are playing in the background, or the TV is on.  Also, make sure your child doesn’t have any other distracting tabs open in his browser window – YouTube, unfinished games, email, etc.  We CAN tell when the child’s eyes are wandering from the speech therapy task.

 

  1. SIT NEARBY TO KEEP YOUR CHILD ON TRACK

Along those lines, stay in the room with your child to make sure he stays focused on the speech therapy tasks.  Young children, especially, might have a hard time sitting still.  Online therapists do their very best to keep the child engaged and focused, but there are limits to what we can do from a computer screen.  We can’t take away that popcorn that your child is snacking on or provide a fidget toy to keep his hands busy.  Parents who are in the room can monitor their child’s behavior and help the therapy session stay productive.

 

  1. PRACTICE THE SAME ACTIVITIES WITH YOUR CHILD

Last, but not least, one of the very best things you can do to make online speech therapy productive, is to follow along and learn what the SLP suggests your child practice.  Learn the techniques to make the sound and help your child practice that sound every day.  That is the best way to get the most out of therapy and help your child progress faster.

 

If you’d like to learn more about how you can help your child with her speech therapy at home, please visit our website:  www.clarityspeechandlanguage.com.  We offer online courses for parents that include practice materials, as well.

Thanks for listening and have a great day!