Speech pathology telepractice for children with cleft palate in the times of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective To study whether providing Speech and Language Pathology (SLP) interventions by telepractice (TP) could effectively improve speech performance in children with cleft palate (CCP). Methods Forty-three CCP were treated with TP intervention in 45 min sessions, 2 times per week for a period of one month. Children ages ranged 4–12 years (X = 7.04; SD = 2.59). All children presented with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) and compensatory articulation (CA) after palatal repair. TP was provided in small groups (5–6 children) following the principles of the Whole Language Model (WLM). Severity of CA was evaluated by a standardized scale at the onset and at the end of the TP period. Results At the onset of the TP intervention period, 84% of the patients demonstrated severe CA. At the end of the TP period there was a significant improvement in severity of CA (p < 0.001). Conclusion The results of this study suggests that TP can be a safe and reliable tool for improving CA. Considering that the COVID-19 pandemic will radically modify the delivery of Health Care services in the long term, alternate modes of service delivery should be studied and implemented.

Capturing a Moment in Time: A Survey of School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists' Experiences in the Immediate Aftermath of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

“…Recent studies have discussed the potential negative impact of COVID-19 for children and families receiving speech-language services (Tohidast et al, 2020) as well as the accelerated emergence of telepractice service delivery within the field of speech-language pathology (del Carmen Pamplona & Ysunza, 2020;Fong et al, 2020). Within this context, it is key to understand the experiences of speechlanguage pathologists (SLPs), specifically, school-based SLPs, who were supporting students remotely immediately following the school closures.…”

A Bibliometric Analysis of Cohesive Speech Research of Preschoolers From 1970 to 2020

“…According to Klintö et al (2011), word naming is the most important speech material for speech judgement of children with cleft palate. Besides, del Carmen Pamplona and Ysunza (2020) pointed out the telepractice of speech and language pathology could improve the Ly Thi Bac LA, Nga Thi Thu NGUYEN, Anh Thi Thuy TRUONG, Thu-Giang TRAN, The-Thang NGUYEN. A bibliometric analysis of cohesive speech research of preschoolers from 1970 to 2020 speech performance of children with cleft palate.…”

“…Within this knowledge base, there was a research related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pamplona and Ysunza (2020) showed that telepractice could be a safe tool to improve the speech performance of children with cleft palate. They also recommended alternate modes of health care services should be studied and adapted in this context.…”

Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie auf die logopädische Therapie von Kindern mit einer Sprachentwicklungsstörung

“…Dennoch konnte gezeigt werden, dass Teletherapie auch bei sprachtherapeutischen Interventionen eine effektive Maßnahme sein kann [27]. Darüber hinaus wurde sie als ein probates Mittel zur Verbesserung des Zugangs zur Versorgung, insbesondere bei Kindern mit Sprach-und Hörstörungen, angesehen [28,29] [31]. Dennoch müssen auch die Limitationen der Teletherapie bedacht werden.…”