Telehealth has made speech therapy more accessible and flexible for families, and its approach evolves depending on your child’s age and developmental stage. Here’s a breakdown of what telehealth speech therapy might look like for different age groups.
Speech Therapy Telehealth: What to Expect by Age
Ages 0-3: Parent Coaching for Early Learners
At this stage, children learn best from the people they interact with most: you! Telehealth for toddlers and infants is focused on parent coaching. Your telehealth speech therapy sessions will:
- Guide you on how to incorporate speech and language-building activities into your daily routines.
- Demonstrate strategies to encourage communication, such as modeling words during play or mealtime.
- Help you recognize and respond to your child’s communication attempts to foster language growth.
Your role is crucial in these sessions, as your child’s most familiar and trusted teacher. Parent involvement ensures the strategies used in therapy can be seamlessly integrated into everyday life.
Ages 4-6: Collaborative Interaction with Support
Children in this age range are starting to interact more independently with their speech-language pathologist (SLP). However, they may still need your presence for support. During telehealth sessions, you might:
- Sit nearby to help manage attention and participation.
- Observe how the therapist engages your child so you can continue practicing at home.
- Learn new techniques to encourage speech and language skills in daily activities.
This is a wonderful age to foster collaboration between the therapist, your child, and you, ensuring consistent progress.
Ages 7 and Up: Building Independence
As children grow older, they become more independent learners. By age 7 and beyond, many children can fully participate in telehealth speech therapy sessions on their own. However, your involvement remains valuable. You might:
- Stay close by to learn about the activities and techniques your child is working on.
- Check in with the therapist after sessions to discuss progress and ask questions.
- Support your child’s goals outside of therapy by incorporating strategies into everyday life.
Building independence doesn’t mean a lack of parental involvement. Instead, it’s about fostering your child’s confidence and ability to take an active role in their therapy.
Next Steps for You and Your Family
Telehealth is a flexible and effective way to provide speech therapy for children of all ages. Whether you’re learning how to support your infant’s communication skills or encouraging your older child’s independence, teletherapy is designed to adapt to your family’s needs. Your partnership with the therapist is key at every stage, ensuring your child’s progress and success.
If you are interested in pursuing speech therapy for your child, whether in person at our Center or via Telehealth, contact us today to get scheduled with one of our specialists! They can be reached at 773-687-9241. Click this link to learn more about our Speech Therapy team! Visit this link to learn more about teletherapy at our clinic!
