TELEPRACTICE
TELEPRACTICE
To Telepractice or not to Telepractice… That is the Question!
With the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), a pandemic situation worldwide, our team members may have already contacted you about temporarily transitioning your services to remote sessions using video teleconferencing instead of in-person regular visits. Getting services remotely is not a recent approach, in fact, telepractice has been utilized over the past decade.Telepractice is the online conveyance of services via live video conferencing. Telepractice meetings are fundamentally the same as traditional sessions except rather than sitting in the same room, the specialists and the beneficiaries communicate by means of live video conferencing.
“Telepractice is not a different service but rather a different method of service delivery”
-Janet Brown, 2010-
How does it work?
Telepractice is done in real time, that means beneficiaries will be able to interact with the specialists as if they were meeting in-person. In some cases, the presence of an adult facilitator is necessary for assisting:
- Escort beneficiaries to and from therapy sessions,
- Set up equipment for sessions,
- Troubleshoot as needed,
- Help beneficiaries engage in activities or keeping them on task
- Control child’s behavior as needed
The length of the session can vary depending on the beneficiary’s age and needs, as well as what works for his family’s schedule.
This might seem new and complicated but do not worry! At Wonderful Minds, our team members provide FREE TRIAL SESSIONS to make beneficiaries and their parents feel more comfortable and familiarize them with the new way of delivering services.
Why Telepractice
- Flexible schedule
- No travel time / distance
- Natural work environment
- Parents participation
- New / Digital skills development
- Best way to continue therapy
Is Telepractice safe and confidential?
Of course! All information disclosed by a beneficiary is held confidential and will not be revealed to anyone without written permission, except where disclosure is required by law; where the beneficiary have requested the disclosure; or where disclosure is made to another health professional for the purpose of professional consultation and coordination of care.
Can therapists deliver services remotely?
YES! Therapists working with beneficiaries can use telepractice to deliver many of the same services and activities as they would use during in-person therapy. These interventions include activities, exercises, and testing to help beneficiaries overcome their difficulties in certain areas.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
- Fine motor skills and bi-manual skills: using buttons, manipulating scissors, using tweezers…
- Handwriting skills
- Gross motor skills: eye-hand coordination, balance etc.
- Self-care: dressing, eating and grooming
- Play: engaging in leisure activities
- Organization skills: planning, completing tasks
- Cognitive and Executive skills: attention, memory, problem solving…
- Spatial orientation
- Tonic regulation
- Laterality
- Social skills: Interacting or communicating with others
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY
- Oral language development: receptive and expressive language, vocabulary etc.
- Speech: articulation, fluency, prosody etc.
- Social interaction and communication: verbal and non-verbal communication including eye-contact, gestures, facial mimics etc.
- Written Language: reading and writing skills, scholastic performance etc.
- Written language prerequisites: auditory processing, phonological awareness etc.
- Cognitive and executive abilities: attention, memory, problem solving etc.
- Pragmatics: use of language in context including turn taking in conversations, organization, implicature etc.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
- Coping with Stress, Anxiety, and Uncertainty
- Using time effectively
- Managing difficult behaviors
- Focus on the things you can control
- Behavioral therapy
- Cognitive restructuring
- Emotional regulation and relaxation techniques
- Social adjustment and community integration in current times
- Parental support
SPECIAL EDUCATION
- Plan, organize, and assign activities that are specific to each beneficiary’s abilities: arts and crafts, worksheets, social games etc.
- Develop Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for each beneficiary
- Adapt lessons to meet the needs of beneficiaries
