FAQ for Parents: Pine Tree Society Speech / Language Telepractice

How will a speech/language telepractice session help my child?

Pine Tree Society’s one-on-one video speech/language therapy sessions allow children to maintain and work on their speech and language goals and help prevent regression.

During this time of social distancing, our remote speech/language therapy sessions bring much needed consistency to children and their families. We strive to provide a service that is as close as possible to what a child would normally receive for therapy intervention.

How can you help my child cope and adapt to change?

Every day, we hear how lonely and sad kids are about not being at school.  By connecting face-to-face via video, in addition to providing continuity of services to help children retain the skills they’ve worked so hard to build, it gives them a feeling of social connectedness and a sense of security that we are going to get through this together.

A parent described it this way: “Both my mind and heart are at ease seeing my son adapt to change and his willingness to try something new without being able to understand why this is all happening.”

Which remote platform do you use for telepractice sessions?

Pine Tree Society’s telepractice services are provided via Zoom, a HIPAA-compliant, user-friendly video conferencing technology that is easily accessed from any device.

Is Zoom a secure platform?

Pine Tree Society adheres to Zoom’s recommendations to ensure a secure web conferencing environment through password protection of online meeting rooms by default, elimination of Meeting ID display, removal of the attendee attention tracking feature and implementation of a join flow procedure for web clients.

Is Zoom easy to use?

Zoom is a really family-friendly, easy to use platform and Pine Tree Society helps every step of the way.

What does a typical session look like?

In every session, we follow a similar routine so it’s consistent and both the child and the family knows what to expect.  Everyone participating is guided when it’s their turn in the activity and we do everything we can to adapt to what the family needs and feels comfortable with.

Sample session:

1. The therapist begins the session with a schedule, either in text or in pictures, presented on the screen.
2. Next, there is a check in about how the child is feeling, which is sometimes accompanied with a hello song.
3. After the check-in, the therapist and child engage in a variety of customized activities that may include reading a book, taking a virtual trip to somewhere special (e.g. zoo, aquarium, etc.), playing a game, or using video tools for other interactive speech and language development tasks.
4. Each session generally ends with a social closing, which may include a goodbye song.

Sessions sometimes include other supports in a child’s life, such as behavioral consultants.

How do I schedule a telepractice session?

To find out how Pine Tree Society’s Speech Language Pathologists can support your child through telepractice speech/language therapy services, please contact Linda Bonnar at lbonnar@pinetreesociety.org or 207-386-5931.