Virtual Speech Therapy

An SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist. All SLPs at Speech Sessions hold North Carolina licensure through the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

Complete the screening request form letting us know your contact information and your areas of concern.

Speech Sessions currently serves clients across North Carolina.

Complete the online form or call the office for more information regarding cost of evaluation and treatment sessions.

You will first complete the screening request form to let our office staff know you would like to be contacted for a screening. You will then be contacted to setup an appointment for an online screening to determine if further evaluation is recommended. This screening process will also give you an opportunity to experience a virtual appointment. During the screening process, we will let you know if further evaluation is recommended.

If further evaluation is recommended, you may choose to setup an evaluation with Speech Sessions. The evaluation will be scheduled and completed through an online session.  A Speech-Language Pathologist will then contact you with the results and recommendations. If treatment sessions are recommended, the Speech-Language Pathologist will review the treatment plan with you. The Speech Sessions team will contact you to setup the schedule for your online speech therapy sessions. You can also contact the office throughout this process if any questions arise.

You will need a computer, laptop, or tablet. Using a phone for treatment sessions is not recommended. You will need reliable internet access. You will need some type of microphone, camera, and speakers. Most laptops will have these features already built-in. It is recommended that you sit in a well lit room or directly in front of a window with the window light illuminating your face. Choose a place in your home, office, or school that is quiet and away from distractions. Arrive to your session on time and be ready to be actively engaged for the duration of the session. For younger children, this may mean they have a small snack and drink, along with a bathroom break prior to the session so that they are ready to engage with the clinician during the scheduled session.

Virtual speech therapy sessions have been growing in popularity over the last several years. Research into this format of service delivery is indicating that telepractice speech therapy sessions are equally as effective at the traditional in-person model. A study in 2017 reported, “both telehealth and in-person participants made significant and similar improvements (Wales, Skinner & Hayman, 2017)." https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318717829_The_Efficacy_of_Telehealth-Delivered_Speech_and_Language_Intervention_for_Primary_School-Age_Children_A_Systematic_Review

From our experience here at Speech Sessions, telepractice is effective, efficient, and often a convenient service delivery model for busy families. Clients often engage well in this virtual model. At Speech Sessions, students work one-on-one with the SLP. Students are meeting goals during online speech sessions and reporting they look forward to their online sessions. We find students are engaged during their online sessions, participate well in activities presented, and excited to make progress each session. This model can also be a great way to involve caregivers. Caregivers can observe sessions, have direct access to the SLP for questions or concerns that may arise, and learn techniques used during therapy sessions that can be used during home practice and carryover activities.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association describes telepractice for speech therapy services as, “Telepractice is the delivery of services using telecommunication and Internet technology to remotely connect clinicians to clients, other health care providers, and/or educational professionals for screening, assessment, intervention, consultation, and/or education. Telepractice is an appropriate model of service delivery for audiologists and speech-language pathologists (ASHA, n.d.) and may be the primary mode of service delivery or may supplement in-person services (known as hybrid service delivery)."

“ASHA adopted the term telepractice rather than the frequently used terms telemedicine or telehealth to avoid the misperception that these services are used only in health care settings. Other terms such as teleaudiology, telespeech, and speech teletherapy are also used by practitioners in addition to telepractice. Services delivered by audiologists and speech-language pathologists are included in the broader generic term telerehabilitation (American Telemedicine Association, 2010).

Please use the following link for more information on telepractice for online speech therapy services, https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/professional-issues/telepractice/ .

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association defines Speech Sound Disorders as, “Speech sound disorders is an umbrella term referring to any difficulty or combination of difficulties with perception, motor production, or phonological representation of speech sounds and speech segments—including phonotactic rules governing permissible speech sound sequences in a language.

Speech sound disorders can be organic or functional in nature. Organic speech sound disorders result from an underlying motor/neurological, structural, or sensory/perceptual cause. Functional speech sound disorders are idiopathic—they have no known cause.”

Please use the following link for more information on Speech Sound Disorders from ASHA:  https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/articulation-and-phonology/ .

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defines Childhood Apraxia of Speech as, “Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a neurological childhood (pediatric) speech sound disorder in which the precision and consistency of movements underlying speech are impaired in the absence of neuromuscular deficits (e.g., abnormal reflexes, abnormal tone). CAS may occur as a result of known neurological impairment, in association with complex neurobehavioral disorders of known or unknown origin, or as an idiopathic neurogenic speech sound disorder. The core impairment in planning and/or programming spatiotemporal parameters of movement sequences results in errors in speech sound production and prosody.”

Please use the following link for more information on Childhood Apraxia of Speech from ASHA:  https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/childhood-apraxia-of-speech/ .

At Speech Sessions, we recommend you obtain a doctor referral for speech therapy services from your Pediatrician. We can discuss this further during your screening.