By Magic Words Speech and Language Therapist, Eva Chan
Here are some top tips for parents to help you prepare for your child's online speech therapy session so that they can get the most out of this highly effective way of accessing speech and language therapy.
SET THEIR EXPECTATIONS
Before the session, discuss with your child the differences between an online session compared to a face-to-face session. Explain they’ll be seeing and talking to their therapist on a screen!
ENVIRONMENT
Choose an appropriate environment. Reduce the background noise by setting up your laptop or tablet in a calm, distraction-free place in your home. A home office, or a sitting room would be ideal. To further reduce distractions, try giving them headphones.
EQUIPMENT
While most children will probably know how to work a mouse or touch pad, some training in this may be required for younger children who are not familiar with these. If you can help them to learn to use a mouse or touch pad your child can then join in onscreen drawing on the virtual whiteboard during the online therapy session. This is a really fun and useful part of online speech therapy.
PREPARATION
You can always set up a trial session with your therapist beforehand. Get your child to roleplay and get comfortable before a session starts. Allow ample time to prepare for a session so you are ready to go at the scheduled time!
Making the change from face-to-face sessions to online speech therapy sessions can be a little daunting to think about but in practice it’s not too different once you get going! In fact,most of my clients have engaged and responded extremely well to online therapy. Which child do you know that wouldn’t want a virtual sticker or to play an online game as a reward after some good work?! Children seem to love seeing us through a screen and get very excited to see us in their living room!
