Online health services (or 'Telehealth' services) such as online speech therapy, are increasingly playing a vital role in our lives across both private and national healthcare services.
The NHS revealed plans to provide 12 million patients with access to online, video-based, GP consultations back in 2020.
And online speech and language therapy is officially endorsed by the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (RCSLT) and the Association for Speech & Language Therapists in Independent Practice (ASLTIP).
The benefits of these online services are very clear:
✅ No waiting lists
✅ No travelling for appointments
✅ Easier access to services for those in remote locations
✅ Flexible hours for appointments
Specifically, when it comes to Speech and Language Therapy, where more and more parents are turning to private therapy to avoid long waiting lists and to get the level of service they require, there are additional benefits of using an online ('Telehealth') service, including:
✅ Increased availability of therapists & appointments
✅ Faster access to the expertise & support your child needs
✅ Lower costs for services
✅ More accurate assessments (based on video rather one-off view)
✅ Focus on empowering parents & guardians to help children progress at home
✅ A less intimidating experience for the child (no scary clinic visits)
On top of all of that, it's well documented that providing parents and guardians with the right techniques, strategies and activities, which can be built into the child's everyday routines, is much more effective than short, one-off, direct therapy sessions.
Online speech therapy and support is applied in different ways based on the child's specific needs and the parents preferences, but generally we can break it down as follows based on the child's age:
✅ 0 - 3.5 years old - Pre-school children learn best from the people they spend most of their time with - you. So at this age, sessions are focused more on teaching you simple games and strategies to implement at home. This would be the same in face-to-face therapy sessions, so for this age group, online is actually much better suited.
✅ 3.5 - 8 years old - Many Primary School aged children are independent enough to benefit from direct instruction delivered in speech therapy sessions. Usually children at this age will attend these fun and engaging video sessions alongside you, so you can both learn directly from the speech therapist. For children who might have trouble focusing, speech therapists will continue to provide you the strategies to apply at home.
✅ 8+ years old - Older Primary School and High School aged children are encouraged to engage more independently with their speech therapist where possible, but you are still welcome to join (if they'll let you!). Either way, you will be kept up-to-date with progress from each session and still provided with details of any home activities to work on.
At Saltroad, we specialise in online speech therapy for children, helping those who have speech and language difficulties.
And thanks to our modern, online approach to therapy, we can typically get you matched with a speech therapist within 24hrs and get an online speech and language assessment completed within days, rather than weeks or months.
So take the first step today, complete our online screener & consultation call which will help us to get you the right support you need.
