NAVIGATING THE "NEW NORMAL" OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE THERAPY

TIPS FOR PARENTS

BY DR. KATHLEEN WHITMIRE

During this unprecedented pandemic, in the vast world of public education, federal and state officials are working diligently to provide guidelines for navigating all students' academic needs. Since March 2020, district leaders have regularly met to collaborate on the development of appropriate, wide-ranging remote curriculums. Across the country, leaders have approached these challenges in ways that best fit their community needs. Some districts provided synchronous (live) or asynchronous (recorded) online learning, and others relied on mailed packets and periodic phone and email communication to support continuous learning.

All parents of students from preschool to college are adapting to a "new normal." Families of children with special education and specifically, speech-language needs, are facing specific unique challenges. These students and families face hurdles such as a lack of individualized, in-person therapy, a lack of service continuity and access to reliable online service, and overdue or modified IEP and Eligibility meetings. On a broader level, families find themselves in the role of facilitator or paraeducator without proper training and support of a related service provider, all while balancing drastically-altered family and career needs and expectations. In addition, qualified related service providers, such as speech-language therapists, are requiring reliable, dense online video platforms to deliver quality services to students in their homes. Many of the solutions implemented this past spring were short-term fixes. As we look at the long- term impacts of alternative learning models, equity is a critical consideration and using digital technology for remote learning is proving to be a reliable option. Schools were forced to shift to remote solutions, such as online instruction using general-purpose video platforms (e.g. Zoom), or SLP-specific AI solutions (e.g. AmplioSpeech). The good news is, these tools have ensured accessibility to technology allowing students with disabilities access to high-quality instruction and therapies. Also, students maintained connections academically and emotionally with their teachers and therapists.

A s we look forward to the start of the 2020-2021 school year, numerous suggested learning models are being discussed. Ideally, districts have begun to communicate with you regarding your child's IEP service delivery since school closure. Districts are responsible for reviewing received thoughtful and insightful information regarding the impact from the delivery of special education, and other related services, on students. Then, schools, agencies, and districts should share their ideas and experiences with each other and leverage the opportunity for innovative solutions that can significantly benefit students with special needs from the onset rather than as an afterthought. Good luck, parents! We may not be with you face-to-face, but we'll see you, talk to you, listen and hear you... remotely! •

Since early Spring of 2020, our team of SLPs and speech-language leaders at AmplioSpeech have analyzed the performance of speech-language students during the pandemic. We have identified challenges and provided solutions for students, parents, and therapists to positively navigate this experience:

1 As parents, your primary concern is your child's continued progress. We need to ensure that all homebound students receive efficacious therapy that meets or exceeds the quality of in-person therapy. You want your child's therapist to perform at their best. Online services should reduce workload for clinicians, rather than increase workload. Effective online services reduce pressure for students or staff to return to school, when it is not in the best interest of them, their classmates, or their colleagues. The highest standard platforms are, therefore, recommended. Solution: With AmplioSpeech, students benefit from high-quality, efficacious online therapy. The platform offloads many of the SLPs' tasks, reducing workload during these stressful times. AmplioSpeech's easily-accessible technical support as well as clinical support enables smooth therapy. Parents, welcome the help of a sibling or babysitter to help with technology support. Also, utilize your school district's tech support team or that of the online platform you are using.

2 You may be concerned about the health risks of sending your child to school in the fall. As students and SLPs return to schools, in some way or another, their safety is the first priority. However, speech therapy the way we traditionally deliver it, does not meet COVID-19 safety guidelines. Therapy is typically delivered with a group of students from different classes, face-to-face, in a small room, without masks. Solution: When schools reopen, we should make sure that students either receive safe individual therapy or stay in their classrooms during online group therapy, delivered remotely from the SLP's room. Individual and group sessions can also be effectively delivered over the digital platforms, room-to-room. In some cases, school-based therapy may not be possible. If your child continues receiving speech therapy from home, establish a schedule but allow for flexibility in order to stay mentally and physically healthy. A schedule will provide routine and a sense of normalcy during a very abnormal time. Built-in flexibility such as regular open break times will decrease possible emotional breakdowns due to unexpected changes that will inevitably occur.

Provide your child with movement breaks, incorporated into the daily routine. For example, 30-minutes of online work, followed by 30 minutes of project or playtime. Don't forget to take into consideration your own work and family needs when setting up your child's schedule. If your child needs 1:1 support from you for certain tasks, schedule those at a time that works with your own schedule. Take time for yourself as much as possible to reduce your own stress. If you stay relaxed, positive, and encouraging, your child will too.

3 As many of you have heard from your school districts, very little about the coming school year is certain. The year likely will be characterized by alternating and hybrid educational models. Schools may open and close with COVID waves. Individual students as well as staff will fluctuate between being at school and staying home. Continuous, regular, and consistent therapy will become a safe haven for fragile students while ensuring continued student progress. Such services can only be provided if the entire therapy cycle is managed by a single platform, regardless of setting (online or onsite), including resources, documentation, Medicaid reimbursement, and home practice opportunities.

Solution: Find a digital platform that can work for all settings, with students both onsite and online. The same resources and materials should be used in any model, with consistent and standardized documentation throughout the year. Most importantly, IEP compliance should be smoothly transitioned between online and onsite. Parents, make sure you have a system for regular communication with the IEP team. Do whatever is best for you and your team. In some cases, email may work best. In other cases, messaging or chat channels may be available through a district or an online platform. Get creative with how and what you communicate! Send your therapist a video of your child talking attempting a therapy task. He or she would love to see what your child is doing at home. Make sure to send them feedback about what is working or not working for your child so they can modify their approach as needed within the platform.

4 As many of you know, students have missed tens of thousands of evaluations and therapy sessions since COVID19 disrupted our lives. Your child may be one that is owed an evaluation or additional therapy. Most schools were not able to compensate for these missed evaluations during the summer. Without proper evaluations to determine service eligibility and necessary compensatory services, students will far further behind their peers. Therefore, we anticipate a need to double the number of evaluations and services during the first months of the fall.

Solution: Platforms such as AmplioSpeech offer a safety net for school districts. A highly trained digital evaluation team of licensed online SLPs is offered to schools and additional AmplioSpeech SLPs complement regular services with after school group compensatory services, to bridge the gaps.

5 Many of you know that school teachers and staff have done their best to meet the needs of students during this unprecedented time, but they are struggling along with you. Special Education directors report that many therapists find it difficult to transition from the status quo to a new modality, and in many cases, they too are struggling with the change. The transition not only involves technology, but it also changes therapy processes and logistics, as well as fundamental clinical aspects, such as engaging the student. Good digital platforms have a lot to offer for those who embrace them. They empower clinicians, reduce workload, and enable oversight. You can help spread the word in your district that the right tools are available for this moment to ease the burdens placed on our hardworking teachers and therapists. Solution: AmplioSpeech offers guidance, training, and support to school administrators and clinicians, accelerating the transition to digital services. AmplioSpeech training includes the use of the AmplioSpeech platform, translating in-person to online therapy, as well as sessions simulation with an SLP playing a student. Mentorship, daily walk-in sessions, Facebook SLPs community, and other methods are offered to ensure the transition is quick, smooth, and fun. Parents also should connect with their speech-language pathologist or other related service providers for a visual schedule (i.e., handwritten or picture checklists, calendar, post-it notes) to better motivate students. In addition, check out online resources for examples of visual schedules for children with special needs. Then, incorporate them into the child's workspace to let them know what needs to be completed. For your children who struggle with time management, incorporating visual timers can help them know the start and stop times to their activities. Hourglass timers, standard kitchen timers, or digital timers on the child's screen are all great options. Lastly, provide incentives as motivation using a structured reward system for task completion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Kathleen Whitmire is an ASHA Fellow and K-12 Lead at AmplioSpeech.