Online speech therapy provides a comprehensive program for individuals who cannot see a speech therapist face-to-face. Patients can participate in speech therapy activities and techniques from home, with flexible schedules and lower costs. It also offers anonymity for adults and is popular with children.
Speech therapists play a huge role in education and medicine, helping children and adults overcome their speech impediments and dysfluencies. However, it is not always practical or possible for an individual to see a speech therapist face-to-face. That is why online speech therapy provides the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive speech therapy program on the Internet.
In a school setting, patients will work one-on-one with a speech therapist, participating in a range of speech therapy activities designed to help them overcome their language difficulties. Speech therapy techniques often involve repeating words with particular attention to particular sounds and the shape and movement of the mouth and tongue. For disfluencies such as stuttering, with repetition of whole or partial words, a speech therapy program would work with the student to master breathing and pronunciation.
However, extensive speech therapy takes time and the cost can be high without the assistance of insurance or a public health agency. This is where online speech therapy comes into play. Through new and creative technologies, patients have the opportunity to practice the same speech therapy techniques and activities they would use when working face-to-face with a speech therapist from the comfort of their home with a flexible schedule.
There are many types of online speech therapy programs. Some therapists prefer to continue working with their patients face-to-face, using video conferencing or a similar system. Others ask their adult and child speech therapy patients to practice at home using the resources they have made available online between sessions. This blended therapy is especially popular with children, who often forget to bring the techniques they learn in the classroom into the ‘real world’ and can greatly benefit from the interactive activities they can use at home.
Online speech therapy also offers a degree of anonymity to adults who may be too self-conscious to seek help for their speech impairment from a professional. Using the resources provided through a virtual speech therapy program, they can overcome speech difficulties that may have plagued them throughout their lives at their own time and pace. When working anonymously, these adults are also able to relax and focus on their speech, without any of the nerves that can arise in a clinical setting and make speech difficulties worse.
Online speech therapy programs are often less expensive than working one-on-one with a full-time speech pathologist. Many parents of children with special needs use online programs to supplement their children’s existing treatment programs. The added opportunity to practice vital skills from home without having to hire an independent therapist can be an invaluable opportunity to aid in their development.
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