Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives on Teletherapy Delivery of Speech Pathology Services in Rural Schools: A Preliminary, Qualitative Investigation

Authors

  • Michelle Lincoln Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney
  • Monique Hines Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney
  • Craig Fairweather Royal Far West
  • Robyn Ramsden Royal Far West
  • Julia Martinovich Royal Far West

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2014.6155

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate stakeholders’ views on the feasibility and acceptability of a pilot speech pathology teletherapy program for children attending schools in rural New South Wales, Australia. Nine children received speech pathology sessions delivered via Adobe Connect® web-conferencing software. During semi-structured interviews, school principals (n = 3), therapy facilitators (n = 7), and parents (n = 6) described factors that promoted or threatened the program’s feasibility and acceptability. Themes were categorised according to whether they related to (a) the use of technology; (b) the school-based nature of the program; or (c) the combination of using technology with a school-based program. Despite frequent reports of difficulties with technology, teletherapy delivery of speech pathology services in schools was highly acceptable to stakeholders. However, the use of technology within a school environment increased the complexities of service delivery. Service providers should pay careful attention to planning processes and lines of communication in order to promote efficiency and acceptability of teletherapy programs.

  

References

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2014). Professional issues: Telepractice. Available from http://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Professional-Issues/Telepractice/

Armfield, N.R., Gray, L.C., & Smith, A.C. (2012). Clinical use of Skype: A review of the evidence. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 18, 125-127.

Blaiser, K.M., Behl, D., & Callow-Heusser, C. (2013). Measuring costs and outcomes of tele-intervention when serving families of children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 5(2), 3-10.

Brutten, G.J. (1997). Communication Attitudes Test. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Retrieved from http://cens.unl.edu/fluency/pdfs/test.pdf

Carey, B., O’Brian, S., Onslow, M., Block, S., Jones, M., & Packman, A. (2010). Randomized controlled non-inferiority trial of a telehealth treatment for chronic stuttering: The Camperdown Program. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 45, 108–120.

Cohn, E.R. (2012). Tele-ethics in telepractice for communication disorders. Perspectives on Telepractice, 2(1), 3-15.

Cohn, E.R., Brannon, J., & Cason, J. (2011). Resolving barriers to licensure portability for telerehabilitation professionals. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 3(2), 31-33.

Conture, E.G. (2001). Stuttering: Its nature, diagnosis, and treatment. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Denton, D.R. (2003). Ethical and legal issues related to telepractice. Seminars in Speech and Language, 24, 313-322.

Grogan-Johnson, S., Alvares, R., Rowan, L., & Creaghead, N. (2010). A pilot study comparing the effectiveness of speech language therapy provided by telemedicine with conventional on-site therapy. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 16, 134-139.

Halpern, A.E., Ramig, L.O., Matos, C.E, Petska-Cable, J.A., Spielman, J.L., Pogoda, J.M., …McFarland, D.H. (2012). Innovative technology for the assisted delivery of intensive voice treatment (LSVT LOUD) for Parkinson disease. American Journal of Speech Language Pathology, 21, 354-367.

Harris, E., Onslow, M., Packman, A., Harrison, E., & Menzies, R. (2002). An experimental investigation of the impact of the Lidcombe Program on early stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders, 27, 203-214.

Harrison, E., Wilson, L., & Onslow, M. (1999). Distance intervention for early stuttering with the Lidcombe Program on early stuttering. Advances in Speech Language Pathology, 1, 31-36.

Hill, A.J., Theodoros, D.G., Russell, T.G., Cahill, L.M., & Ward, E.C. (2006). An Internet-based telerehabilitation system for the assessment of motor speech disorders: A pilot study. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15, 45–56.

Howell, S., Tripoliti, E., & Pring, T.R. (2009). Delivering the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) by web camera: A feasibility study. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 44, 287–300.

Irani, F., & Gabel, R. (2011). Intensive stuttering therapy with telepractice follow-up: A case study. Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders, 21, 11-21.

Gabel, R., Irani, F., Palasik, S., Swartz, E., & Hughes, C. (2010). Treatment outcomes of the intensive stuttering therapy for adolescents and adults. In A.E. Harris (Ed.), Speech Disorders: Causes, Treatment, and Social Effects (pp. 139-159). New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers.

Georgeadis, A.C. Brennan, D.M., Barker, L.M., and Baron, C.R. (2004). Story retelling performance and subject feedback from adults with neurogenic impairments in both face-to-face and remote videoconference settings. Clinical Aphasiology, 18, 639–652.

Guitar, B. (2013). Stuttering: An integrated approach (4th edition). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Karp, W., Grigsby, R., McSwiggan-Hardin, M., Pursely-Crotteau, S., Adams, L., Bell, W.,…Kanto, W.P. (2000). Use of telemedicine for children with special health care needs. Pediatrics, 105, 843-847.

Kully, D. (2000). Telehealth in speech pathology: Applications to the treatment of stuttering. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 6, 39–41.

Lincoln, M.A., & Onslow, M. (1997). Long-term outcome of early intervention for stuttering. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 6, 51-58.

Lewis, C., Packman, A., Onslow, M., Simpson, J.M., & Jones, M. (2008). A phase II trial of telehealth delivery of the Lidcombe Program of early stuttering intervention. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 17, 139-149.

Manning, W.H. (1996). Clinical decision making in the diagnosis and treatment of fluency disorders. Boston: Delmar Publishers.

Mashima, P.A., Birkmire-Peters, D.P., Holtel, M.R., & Syms, M.J. (1999). Telehealth applications in speech-language pathology. Journal of Healthcare Information Management, 13, 71–78.

O’Brian, S., Onslow, M., Cream, A., & Packman, A. (2003). The Camperdown Program: Outcome of a new prolonged-speech treatment model. Journal of Speech, Language, Hearing Research, 46, 933-946.

O’Brian, S., Packman, A., & Onslow, M. (2008). Telehealth delivery of the Camperdown Program for adults who stutter. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 51, 184–195.

O’Brain, S., Smith, K., & Onslow, M. (2014). Webcam delivery of the Lidcombe Program for early stuttering: A phase I clinical trial. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57, 825-830.

Onslow, M., Packman, A., & Harrison, E. (2003). The Lidcombe Program of Early Stuttering Intervention: A clinician’s guide. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed

Reardon-Reeves, N. & Yaruss, J.S. (2013). School-age stuttering therapy: A practical guide. McKinney, TX: Stuttering Therapy Resources, Inc.

Riley, G. (2009). Stuttering Severity Instrument (4th ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

Sicotte, C., Lehoux, P., Fortier-Blanc, J., & Leblanc, Y. (2003). Feasibility and outcome evaluation of a telemedicine application in speech-language pathology. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 9, 253-258.

Schwartz, H. (1999). A primer for stuttering therapy. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Theodoros, D., Hill, A., Russell, T., Ward, E., & Wooten, R. (2008). Assessing acquired language disorders in adults via the Internet. Telemedicine and e-Health, 14, 552–559.

Wertz, R.T., Dronkers, N.F., Bernstein-Ellis, E., Shubitowski, Y., Elman, R., Shenaut, G.K.,… Deal, J.L. (1992). Potential of telephonic and television technology for appraising and diagnosing neurogenic communication disorders in remote settings. Aphasiology, 6, 195–202.

Wilson, L., Onslow, M., & Lincoln, M. (2004). Telehealth adaptation of The Lidcombe Program of early stuttering intervention: Five case studies. American Journal of Speech- Language Pathology, 13, 81–93.

Yaruss, J.S. (1998). Real-time analysis of speech fluency: Procedures and reliability training. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 7, 25-37.

Yaruss, J.S. & Quesal, R. (2010). Overall assessment of the speaker's experience of stuttering. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson.

Downloads

Published

2015-01-29

How to Cite

Lincoln, M., Hines, M., Fairweather, C., Ramsden, R., & Martinovich, J. (2015). Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives on Teletherapy Delivery of Speech Pathology Services in Rural Schools: A Preliminary, Qualitative Investigation. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 6(2), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2014.6155

Issue

Vol. 6, No. 2, Fall 2014

Section

School Telepractice

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
    with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
  4. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  5. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
  6. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
  7. The Author represents and warrants that:
    1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
    2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
    3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
    4. the Work has not previously been published;
    5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
    6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
  8. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.